Oh Baby
by AutumnSunLight
Summary: things expected when I found out I was going to be Head Girl.  My name is Rose Weasley, and this is the story of how my perfect Seventh Year was turned upside down, and everything I never expected turning out to be exactly what I needed.
1. Uniforms, gossip and sorting

_A/N: This story has been up on HPFF for a few months, and I decided I'd post the first few chapters here. Reveiw and let me know what you think!_

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><p><em>Rose POV:<em>

I sighed and tried once again to get the collared shirt under my blue jumper to lay straight and not bunch up. Who was I kidding? That wasn't going to happen. I'm still trying to wrap my head around why McGonagall thought making us trade robes for the 'traditional' (read: muggle) school uniforms she adopted in my Second Year would promote kinder feelings toward muggles. As I slipped out of the bathroom and down the corridor the compartment my cousins were coming and going out of, I still gave one last desperate tug on the white shirt. Yes, it looked fine, and it would feel fine…but not for another 30 minutes, probably. It was what I hated the most about the new uniforms …getting everything to lay right and feel comfortable was a nightmare, and if Albus' complaints were anything to go by, the boys uniform wasn't much better with it's mandatory tie. Then again, the boys had ties with robes, too, so I'd probably be listening to him bemoaning the clothes we were forced to wear no matter what.

"Hey Rose…can you help me with my shirt?" Lily Potter asked me as soon as I walked in, "I've tried everything, and it still won't work. I always loose the hang of it over summer break!" Nice to know I'm not the only one with that problem. Lily was a Fifth Year, and more like a little sister to me than any of my other cousins, probably because Albus and I spend so much time together, and when she was younger, she always wanted to be where her brothers were.

"Sure Lil. I can't stop messing with mine either," I assured her, and made as face at Roxanne before she could say something smart-alecky, more than likely about our lack of self-control and what that says about us. Yes, I've heard it all before, and I saw the big intake of breath that always preludes a comment from a Weasley. Molly sniffed indignantly at the two of us as Lily held her jumper in place and I tugged the shirt down, but she was quickly in the same place we were when Lucy came in crying over her shirt and Molly had to help her.

No sooner had Lily sat down than Louis strangled in, shirt unsuccessfully tucked halfway into his pants, tie hanging around his neck only partially done up. Ah, the two babies…er, First Years. I remember when we were that little and naive…then we got shipped to Hogwarts with Fred and James…

The poor boy had barely said "Can you he-" to no one in particular, before we descended on him-I was holding his jumper while Dominique fixed his shirt and Al did his tie.

"Oi, are you trying to strangle me?" Lou shouted, much louder than necessary in the small compartment. Auntie Fleur would have had a fit if she'd heard him…or seen him a minute ago, for that matter.

"No, I'm not," Al informed him, "I'm just trying to do your tie right."

"He's never worn a tie before?" I questioned Dom, unable to believe my Aunt had let her son go eleven years without being dressed up.

"Oh, he has…but Mère or Dad always do it for him," Dom explained, then her voice got musing, and she went on, "or Tori, now that she's had practice…"

Victoire had, after being caught snogging Teddy at the beginning of her Seventh Year, (finally) married him two years ago, and they'd moved into the cutest townhouse right in the middle of the sea-side village her parents and my family lived just outside of.

Through all this my brother had managed to sit in the corner, leafing through _The Quibbler_, and absent-mindly chewing a liquorish wand. Trust Hugo to find a way to stay out of the craziness that is our family, even when nine of us were shoved in a compartment meant for six, and a crammed six at that. While I'd always embraced the insanity, he preferred to stay away from the busyness.

"Girlie, you gotta go!" Dom said suddenly, half an hour later. I blinked over at her from behind my book, and the blank look on my face must have said it all, because Dom clarified with "Your Head's meeting? Don't you want to know who you're living with for the year?"

"No, I don't care at all," I deadpanned, then snapped my book shut, reminded Lily about the Prefects meeting in half an hour, and made my way to the Head's car…

And ran right into Scorpious Malfoy, Hogwarts resident heartbreaker…he had to be the only guy in Hogwarts history who broke girls' hearts by not going out with _anyone_.

"I'm sorry!" he said, ever polite. Usually. While his father was reformed for the world to see, most people knew he was not a totally a changed man, as some of the old prejudices Draco had grown up around still slipped into his actions, and were passed on to his children. His son seemed to try, but once in a while the old ways of the purebloods slipped into his speech or actions. Scorpious's mother, Astoria had been a good woman and intervened, doing her best to counteract some of the teachings her husband was unknowingly passing on to their children. Unfortunately, she'd died two winters previously in a muggle car crash. St Mungo's could do a lot, but not if you died on the scene before other wizards even got there.

"No, it's fine, I was rushing, got lost in my book, and I've got a meeting…" I trailed off, realizing too late I'd said more than I needed to…again. But Scorpious flashed me a smile and I couldn't help smiling back. As a Malfoy, people almost make more assumptions about him than they do about everyone in my extended family combined, but he could be a nice guy, when he wanted to be, and he thought no one was looking. And those Malfoy genes also meant he was coolly handsome, although his mother's DNA was clearly evident in his hair, which was a darker shade of blond than his father and grandfather sported, and his blue eyes that would make a summer sky look washed out.

"What meeting are you rushing so fast to?" He asked, his eyes…twinkling? I looked around and realized we were alone outside the door to the heads car. Well, that explained the_ how_, but not the _why_.

"Um…" I wasn't sure why, but I was feeling slightly uneasy about this…"I'm Head Girl…"

Scorpious looked a bit shocked, and then a smile ghosted over his face. _Uh oh_. He opened the door and held it for me. _Double uh oh_. Then came..."I'm Head Boy,"

I still wasn't quiet trusting my ears by the time I got to the castle, having managed to get through the initial Head's meeting, and the Prefects meeting, which included a few shocked family members, since Dom and Al ware returning prefects, and Lily and Hugo had gotten the spots for Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, respectively. They didn't hate the youngest Malfoy quite like the older generation hated each other, but not everyone was buddy-buddy with him, either. Okay, so _no one_ was buddy-buddy with him.

I was in a carriage to the castle with Dom and some other Seventh Years, unfortunately not including Al. I had my nose back in my book, and was catching snippets of idle gossip they'd picked up. I didn't like to take part in gossip, it always seemed to come back and bite you, but no one but Dom would be able to tell I wasn't still reading, and I liked to listen sometimes.

"Did you hear about Aphrodite?"

"She had her baby over the summer, a little girl."

"No…Malfoy's sister? When did…I mean, she's…not…"

"She got married the summer before their mom died, remember? Kevin Hill?"

"Oh, that's right. They got together in Seventh Year, and then they had a summer wedding two years later. My brother was there."

Huh. So Scorpious was a new uncle. Who'd have thought? I wondered lazily what kind of uncle he'd be, thinking over my considerable knowledge of different kinds of uncles, since I had seemingly one of each, at least.

Then someone, predictably, brought up a member of my family, and my thoughts drifted back into my book, knowing nothing I didn't already know was going to be said.

The sorting went well, no one had any meltdowns over which house they were sorted into like Ashleigh Wood did when I was a Fourth Year. It was hard to believe some of the last Weasley babies from this generation had been sorted-Louis into Gryffindor, and Lucy joined her sister and I in Ravenclaw. There was a confusing moment at the end of the feast, however, when Headmistress McGonagall asked Scorpious and I to come to her office as soon as possible, but I shrugged off the questions of my friends and family and tried not to get to worried.

Turns out, I should have worried more.


	2. Cataclysmic events

**Rose POV**

I met up with Scorpious outside the door to the Headmistresses office, slightly out of breath from running. I wasn't a good runner, nor was I particularly fast, but I loved it, the crazy, kind-of out of control feeling, and careening around corners. I'd been trying to convince myself that McGonagall was just going to take us to the Heads Common Room and give us the password, but I seemed to remember Victoire saying a few years back at Christmas that Uncle Nevile, otherwise known as Professor Longbottom, had found her and her co-head after dinner and taken them up quietly. I was holding out hope that policy had just been changed, but McGonagall looked so serious.

"Any idea what's going on?" Scorpious asked, looking coolly indifferent, but seeming to be attempting civility in spite of the familial wedge between us.

"No clue," I managed to get out before I returned to breathing heavily and pulling my long curling hair down from the ponytail I'd tossed it into before I started running.

As we curled up the twisting staircase I pulled my hair over my left shoulder and glanced over at Scorpious, wondering how we were going to pull the next ten months off. We'd seen each other around the castle, but I had enough friends and family around me that it hadn't seemed worth it to defy my father by trying to be friends with the blond boy. Only he wasn't a little boy any more, and the option of not being friends had been taken out of my hands. I could ignore him, but it didn't seem like a wise idea to ignore the person I'd be living with, and needing to work with. Dad wouldn't be happy, though. Lucky for me, I'd stopped caring quite so much if he approved of my choices.

When we stepped into the office, McGonagall was sitting behind her desk, looking gravely worried, which didn't do much for the sick feeling in my stomach.

"Ah, Miss Weasley, Mr. Malfoy," she said, looking up from the papers she'd been examining, "please be seated."

So far, so good. What could have happened that was so bad? Uncle Harry had taken care of the Dark Lord, I didn't see what could be bigger than that, and since I hadn't heard any rumblings of unrest in my substantially connected family, I wasn't too worried about cataclysmic events rocking my world.

"Mr. Malfoy…I'm afraid I have some bad news for you. Your sister and her husband were in a car crash," I heard him suck in a big breath, and in the dark recesses of my mind, the niggling thought that McGonagall had missed someone made me vaguely uncomfortable.

"They died before the representatives from St Mungo's could get there," she continued, "I'm so very sorry Scorpious."

I waited a minute, then leaned towards the Headmistress and whispered "I think maybe I should just wait outside?" I was really having trouble with exactly why I was in here while the Head Boy's whole world was rocked, by the look on his face. McGonagall looked at me for a minute, then sighed and squared her shoulders.

"No, you need to stay Rose." She said, which only made me more confused, and Scorpious looked up from his careful inspection of the flooring between his feet at this.

"Scorpious, the baby was in the backseat, and since it was a head on collision, she survived with barely a scratch, St Mungo's patched her right up. Mr. Wright should be here in a minute. He'll explain more thoroughly, but the gist of it is this-your sister and brother-in-law have, in the absence of any other, older family members they feel are responsible and stable enough to do the job, named you Charlotte's guardian. Now, since you turned seventeen over summer break, legally you can take custody of her. Normally, this would mean you'd need to quit Hogwarts or find a round the clock nanny for her, but the Professors and I discussed it over dinner, and we think we may have another option. Since you're Head Boy, you have a separate dorm, and the baby wouldn't bother anyone there but Miss Weasley. We can add a nursery and kitchenette, I'm sure someone can be found to get her things from Aphrodite's house. We still need to work out what to do with her during classes, and not only you, Mr. Malfoy, but Miss Weasley also, need to think about whether this is something you're willing to do.

"Rose," she said turning to me, "Mr. Malfoy will need your positive vote before we can even begin to think about going through with this. Not only will the baby be in your dorm, since Scorpious is your _co_-Head, he is going to require your patience and understanding because, as I'm sure you know, babies take a lot of energy, and so does school. You may very well end up pulling more than your half of the load if he brings Charlotte to Hogwarts."

I'm pretty sure the only word for the two of us is _shell-shocked_. I felt bad for Scorpious, because at this point, after loosing his mother and his older sister, the only family he had was his father, who obviously wasn't the best parent since Aphrodite had opted for Scorpious to care for her baby, and Charlotte herself. I'd been around babies plenty in my family, and loved them, but they were a huge undertaking, even for people who were 20-something, had jobs and were married and had someone else to help with the work. I was game for just about anything legal, and I enjoyed nothing more than conquering a challenge or obstacle, but I realized this wasn't my choice, it was Scorpious's.

I got up from my chair and knelt down by his chair. It felt odd to be in this position with a young man I barely knew. He'd never been mean or derogatory like I'd heard his father had been to my parents, aunts and uncles, but…other than knowing who he was and hearing snippets of information about him from my friends and family, I had no idea who he was or what he was like. I didn't know what to expect. I knelt there for a few seconds, then tentatively reached out my hand and set it on his knee. The gold band on my thumb glinted in the light, and it seemed to bring him out of his shock a little. He lifted his head a fraction of an inch and seemed to notice that the pressure on his leg was coming from my hand. It seemed to take him a couple more seconds before he realized that my hand was connected to me, and I waited while his eyes followed my wrist to my arm to my shoulder, up my neck to my face. His eyes locked with mine, and I sucked my breath in, the pain and confusion in his gaze were so intense. He never let anyone see anything, I'd noticed that much from seeing him around, he carried himself upright, eyes guarded. He had friends, but I had gotten the feeling from talking to people that even those closest to him didn't know all, if any, of his secrets. He was still looking at me, his emotions now flickering across his face as well, his eyes so distraught I felt like his pain was funneling from his body to mine, but the fount was unending.

"I'm sorry Scorpious," I whispered, feeling as though the words were completely insignificant and totally inappropriate, but at a loss as to what else I _could _say. His lips twitched minutely, in acknowledgement of my words, but I'm not really sure he comprehended. I put my head down on his knee for a minute, gathering my words.

"Scorpious," I said hesitantly, raising my head, "it's your choice. Do whatever you think you need to. I'll try my hardest to help."

He looked at my blankly, so I clarified, "The baby…Charlotte…make your choice, don't worry about me. I won't stand in the way of you having her here."

He watched me for a minute, then his face cleared a little and he looked like he was going to say something, but at that moment, the fire behind him flashed green and a wizard stepped out, holding a green and brown car seat with a wailing baby inside.

"You must be Mr. Wright," our Headmistress collected herself first, stepping foreword to shake his hand and introduce us, "this is Mr. Malfoy, and our Head Girl, Rose Weasley." We must have made for quite a sight, Scorpious looking completely lost and the edge of a breakdown and me, on the floor next to him, my face probably betraying some of the shock and the resolve that was hardening into steely determination inside me.

He had dark dress robes on, probably someone from the legal department at the Ministry. He was mostly bald, except for a fringe of white hair around his head, and his belly stuck out a bit from his robes. He seemed pleasant, but not like someone who was comfortable with children, he held the car seat away from his body now that they were out of the floo.

"Hello. Sad, sad business, of course," Mr. Wright said, wincing as Charlotte, in a pale purple onesie featuring a butterfly, cried out even louder, face scrunched up, arms and legs flailing wildly. I watched her for a minute, and then sighed when no one made a move to calm her. Mr. Wright seemed both at a lose for what to do for her and annoyed at the ruckus, while Scorpious seemed to be in more and more physical pain the louder she was. I'm really not sure what the deal was with McGonagall, only that she wasn't doing anything, and I couldn't stand to see a baby in pain.

"May I?" I asked no one in particular, but gestured to the baby carrier, wondering what it was I was going to do with nothing…ah, a nappy bag on Mr. Wright's shoulder, the green and brown blending in with his dark robes.

"Yes, yes of course!" Mr. Wright was only to happy to put the baby down a few feet from me, dropping the nappy bag by her. I waddled over on my knees, and unclipped her before lifting her out and cradling her close. Her nappy was dirty, and I thankfully found everything I needed in the bag. As I worked to change her, I heard the others talking.

"Mr. Malfoy, senior, has been apprised of the situation, and is not happy with the current state of affairs, but there's really not much he can do if young Mr. Scorpious takes custody. Mr. and Mrs. Hill were quite clear in the will; of course, they never expected Scorpious to need to take her so soon, or at all, for that matter."

"He didn't have any family?" McGonagall asked.

"No. He was an only child, and his parents were older when they had him. Both of them died of natural causes, within the last year. And his parents were both only children, too. We spoke of every other option when they came in last week, and let me assure you, there were no alternatives. None of their friends are married, and they really wanted her to stay with family, any way. Draco was not an option Aphrodite was comfortable entertaining."

"Well," McGonagall seemed at a lose for words.

Nappy clean, Charlotte calmed some, but she was still fitfully wriggling in my arms.

"When was the last time she had a bottle?" I asked Mr. Wright, as it occurred to me the little girl might be hungry.

"No idea." He said, the look on his face clearly saying _what? I needed to feed it?_

"How long have you had her?" I asked, my impatience on behalf of the baby growing.

"Oh, three or four hours." He said off-handedly.

"And she's how old?"

"One month…tomorrow," Scorpious piped up for the first time from his chair, twisting around a little to look at his niece.

Oh, good grief. Poor baby, she'd be starving, that was a long time on its own, and who knows when she had one before that. I searched one handedly through the nappy bag until I found bottles and powder. I quickly put her down, mixed the formula, heated it, tested the temp on my wrist, and picked her back up, touching the tip to her lips before I'd even settled her in my arms.

Scorpious was now on his knees on the floor two feet away, watching both of us with a sliver of hope in his blue eyes.

"Scorpious," I ventured, "what do you think you want to do?" I'd noticed the adults staring down at us, clearly not sure how to proceed in this unprecedented situation.

He was watching Charlotte eat, confusion, despondency and loss alternating one his face. I honestly had no idea what he was going to choose to do, but I was worried what would happen to the tiny girl if he didn't take custody in one form or another.

"What will happen to her," I asked, "if Scorpious doesn't take her?"

McGonagall and Wright looked at each other, then Wright said "Even with a will, the next of kin would be offered the baby. In this case, if Scorpious doesn't take her, Draco will be offered custody of Charlotte. If, and I don't think this would be the case, Draco didn't take her, then she'd be put up for adoption, and go to a Wizarding family, but I don't see Draco letting that happen, especially after the talk we had over the floo today."

Scorpious had been listening intently, all the while staring at Charlotte, and now he reached out tentatively and let her grab his finger. Her little cheeks were moving in and out as she greedily sucked the milk out, and she was halfway done already; I pulled the nipple out of her mouth and put her up on my shoulder to burp her, having found a clothe in the nappy bag to protect my jumper with. Scorpious moved his hand with us, so she was perched on my shoulder, holding his hand, and I knew, looking completely adorable, staring around with grayish-blue eyes.

"I have no idea what to do…" He murmured, looking at his niece forlornly.

"Do you want to keep her?" I asked, wondering just what it was I was about to get myself into, and during my Seventh Year, of all times. But our family had, at different times, wondered what would have become of Teddy if his Grandmother and Uncle Harry hadn't been there to take care of him, and I was unwilling to subject a baby unnecessarily to Draco Malfoy, no matter how changed he claimed to be. This was an impossible situation, I never dreamed when I woke up this morning I'd end up here with Scorpious and a baby.

"I want to keep her, I don't want my father to have a chance to get her, but I know nothing about babies!" he sighed deeply, and smiled sadly at Charlotte, who chose that moment to burp and spew a small amount of milk over the cloth on my shoulder.

It was hard to believe we'd only been in the Headmistresses office half an hour, so much had happened and changed in that short amount of time. I was still unsure of the details, of how this could really _work_, but no challenge was too great for me to attempt to conquer it. Crap, I was gonna do it, wasn't I? One glance down at the tiny baby, sucking away at the rest of her bottle, in my arms confirmed my fears. I'd help him, if he wanted my help, if he'd take my assistance.

"I've been around babies my whole life," I told him, hardly able to comprehend I was going through with this, "I'll show you how to take care of her. You'll manage just fine; I'll make sure of it."

He looked up from gazing at her with soft eyes, and stared at me. I know, a Weasley _voluntarily_ helping a Malfoy…I'm shocked too. But I nodded my head a tiny bit at him, and watched as he bit his lip looking from Charlotte to me.

After a few minutes Wright seemed to tire of standing there staring at us, asking "Have you made your mind up yet, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Yes," He said, suddenly decisive, "I'm keeping her."

Remember that cataclysmic event I wasn't worried about? I think it snuck up on me…

I looked around my new room, and then crossed to one of the windows from which the Great Lake was visible. We'd finished up in McGonagall's office fairly quickly, since the next day was Saturday and the Professors were relatively free, McGonagall had asked us to clear out of the Head's Dorm for the morning and let them make the needed adjustments, and then Uncle Neville had shown us the dorm. There was a round, cozy common room with a fire already blazing, and large, over-stuffed sofas everywhere. The perimeter was lined with window seats, curving desks and bookcases. Our rooms were up separate flights of stairs and each had a password. Mine had cherry-wood furniture-a large desk under yet another window, a king size bed with thick drapes, a wardrobe(I'd always loved them after I read _The Chronicles of Narnia_) and more curved bookcases, already stocked with my favorites-and blue, everywhere. The comforter on the bed was the blue the sky turned right after sunset, the drapes on the bed and around the windows a slightly darker shade. The walls were a dusky blue, the pillow cases a lighter shade of sunset blue, and the thick shag rug covering the wood floors was a smoky sky blue. There was also a large over-stuffed chair in gray leather sitting by one of the windows, several bookcase shelves in easy reaching distance.

The stars were starting to twinkle out my window, but I was staring into space more than anything. I'd come up to change, and quickly found my black yoga pants, dark blue tank-top and knee-length sweater coat in my trunk, but now…I just wanted a minute to breathe before I went back down to the insanity that had quickly become my life. Scorpious Malfoy as the Head Boy, and a baby, without parents and living with me, all in under six hours is enough to make any seventeen year old's head spin, even someone who prides herself on never being overwhelmed like me.

There was no getting around it; I had to go back down Scorpious and the baby. I sighed and headed down the stairs to the common room. As I rounded the corner of the curving staircase, I first saw Scorpious, sitting on the couch-now sans tie and jumper, shirt untucked, sleeves pushed up, arms resting on his knees-staring at Charlotte in her car seat, both of them right where I'd left them over ten minutes ago. Charlotte was asleep, her full belly and the rhythmic swinging of the car seat being carried lulling her to dreamland on the walk over. I slipped into the common room and started going through the nappy bag, trying to figure out if we needed anything for overnight. I wasn't sure Madame Pomfrey would have anything that could help us if we were missing stuff, but I sure wasn't going to wait any later to find out. I sensed movement behind me and turned, my hair trailing over my shoulder with me, to see Scorpious watching me now.

"Thank you…I don't know what I would have-" he started, before I interrupted.

"I know," I said, stacking nappies on a coffee table nearby, "it'll be fine. You'll get the hang of it soon."

His lips twitched into a sad smile for half a second, then his face fell as Charlotte starting kicking fitfully in her sleep.

"She's fine…probably just dreaming." I reassured him, and he relaxed minutely.

"Are you sure?" he really needs to calm down a bit. I know it's been a hard few hours, and babies are probably really new to him…but _still_. He'll drive himself insane over the next seventeen years if he jumps every time she wriggles in her sleep.

"Yes. I'm sure you've moved in your sleep before too!"

He watched her for another minute, then slumped on the sofa, his head hanging over the back, eyes shut. I worked silently for a few minutes, discovering Aphrodite had packed plenty, in addition to two dozen diapers, there were twelve bottles, thirty packets of baby formula, ten different outfits, everything from onesies to sleepers to a tiny dress, burping cloths, blankets and a green and brown baby sling. Frankly, I was surprised she hadn't shrunk a rocking chair and stuck it in the magically expanded bag. Any other time I'd have thought a mother was crazy to have all that packed, but I was too grateful to have everything we needed to think funnily of Charlotte's mom. Speaking of which…I was about to turn around and see how Scorpious was doing with it all when I felt him settle in a few feet away from me on the floor.

"Do you know what all that does?" he asked, gesturing at the little piles strewn across the floor.

"Yup. Between my brother Hugo and all my baby cousins…I know my way around a nursery." Glanced over at him, he was staring into his lap.

"Aphrodite was so excited to be a mother," he mumbled, "she said she wanted to be just like our mother, only better, because Kevin was nothing like dad…"

I was at such a loss for what to say, I opened my mouth and then closed it again, because what could I really say? He'd already lost his mother, now his sister was gone, and he had the huge responsibility of raising her baby, all before he was eighteen. So what could I say? I'd done the 'I'm sorry' bit, and it still seemed woefully inadequate. Charlotte saved me from trying further to come up with something appropriate to say by scrunching her face up and wailing. Scorpious looked at her, then tentatively reached over and rocked the seat, which worked for about five seconds, and then she screamed even louder. He kept rocking her, and after about thirty seconds of the earsplitting noise he looked over at me, panic starting to show on his face.

"Don't you know how to pick her up?" I asked apprehensively.

"Nope. I mostly watched when I was with Aphrodite and Kev after she was born. I held her once, and for less than a minute. I was afraid I'd break her."

Alright, so I really had my work cut out for me. A teenage boy was bad enough, a teenage boy who was afraid (albeit of breaking) babies was just plain…oh brother! Or, in this case, oh baby.

"Okay. It'll be fine, I'll show you how," I said, nudging him aside and starting to lift her out of the seat.

"When she's not crying?"

"When she's not crying." I amended; quickly tossing a burping cloth over my shoulder as I easily swung her up. As she continued to bawl, I got up and started walking around the common room, alternately patting and rubbing her back and bouncing her. Scorpious watched me walk around the room for a minute with his squalling niece before he got up and ambled over hesitantly.

"Why are you doing that?"

"Because it helps," I said, then rethought my statement as Charlotte continued to make her displeasure known, "usually. It might take awhile for her to calm down."

"But why? Why does it help?"

"It just does. It's soothing, I guess. I've never really thought about it, it helps, so you just do it. Some things with babies are just pure instinct."

"Pure instinct, huh?" he said, cupping the back of his neck with his hand and sinking onto the nearest chair.

I left him alone and continued my endless lap around the room until she quieted, then changed her nappy and slipped her into a flower-patterned footie sleeper before slipping onto the chair by Scorpious.

"Ready?" I asked, lifting Charlotte up a little in my arms.

He looked up and me, and I caught a deer-in-the-heads look for a split-second before he made his features fairly neutral again.

"Okay…" he said, looking slightly sick to his stomach.

"Alright, cradle your arms like this," I said, raising mine slightly to demonstrate, "and always, always watch her head and neck and make sure you support them, because she can't hold her head up on her own yet." He nodded, and I lifted Charlotte into his arms. He tightened his grip on her, and I moved my hands off her, but kept them hovering a few inches away incase he fumbled. Right on cue the baby yawned and snuggled down, oblivious to the inexperience of her uncle with babies.

"She's so tiny still…" I heard him murmur a few minutes later, after she'd sighed contentedly and gone to sleep.

"I'm going to go unpack some stuff," I told him, pretty sure he'd be fine with the sleeping baby; I stretched and climbed the stairs to my room. My trunk had been magically expanded years ago, and I unpacked things in layers. Six different blankets had been the first things I took out, since they were in my way on my hunt to find clothes the hour before. I was freakishly cold natured, and my collection of blankets, jackets, jumpers, sweater coats and wraps was big enough that my parents refused to buy me any more, not that it stopped me-what was an allowance and Christmas for, anyway? Next I unpacked my clothes, uniforms galore, and then the clothes I actually liked, somewhat out of order from my mad dash earlier to change at warp speed- dark wash jeans, black and gray yoga pants, a two pairs of shorts, because, lets face it, short weather is not in abundance in Scotland, loads long sleeve shirts, hoodies, the ever-present short sleeve logo tees, and a handful of tank tops; And of course, the aforementioned jumpers, jackets and sweater coats. Those were quickly stowed in the wardrobe, which it turned out had a full-length mirror and a jewelry draw. Under that I'd packed my cosmetics and other bathroom stuff, which I tossed on my bed to be squirreled away later. Next came the books…three large boxes of them, mostly muggle books the library wouldn't have. Although McGonagall was very into the whole 'understanding muggles' movement, and Muggle Studies was now a required class, much to the quiet outrage of some of the Pureblood parents, the faculty still wasn't totally up on all the latest muggle stuff. And I was truly my mother's daughter, always keeping my nose in a book, so bringing extras to school really was a necessity. The other upside to the whole 'understanding muggles' thing, besides the obvious of _understanding muggles_, was that muggle technology now worked in the Castle and the Ministry so another aspect of muggle society would be more familiar to us; which meant that, especially with muggle-borns and half-bloods, 'tech-toys', a phrase Grandpa Weasley found most entertaining, were fairly common. I, personally, loved my iPod and took it everywhere with me. I set the speaker dock up on the bedside table and fished the player out of my purse before gathering my toiletries and heading to the only door in the room besides the one I'd come in half an hour before.

Even at night, the bathroom was amazing. It was fresh, crisp and green. There was a huge clear vessel sink set on top the vanity to my right when I first came in, a three meter mirror with beveled edges, and a sleek chrome-and-frosted-glass light fixture which turned on when I opened the door toped it off. I noticed a note on the mirror and shifted my stuff to pull it off.

_ "Miss Weasley,_

_Please let the house elves know if there is anything else you need and enjoy the Head Girl Suite, which is magically altered every year to reflect the tastes and personality of the exmplorary girl living within._

_ Signed, _

_ Headmistress Minerva McGonagall_

_P.S The wall of windows on the far wall are charmed to no one can see in, ever."_

Huh? I looked up, and saw the bathroom reflected back at me, in that strange way windows have after dark. No way! I shut the light off, finding a wall switch by the door, and discovered the whole wall looked out at a corner of the Great Lake and the Forbidden Forest stretching out from there. I switched the light back on and reviewed the rest of the room. In front of the window wall was a clear glass tub, sitting on a circle of what looked like grass, to the left of the tub was a rimless shower, and what seemed to be rain heads… There was a rectangle sticking out from the wall with a door enclosing what I could only imagine as the toilet. The room was fairly empty for the size, except for fluffy bath towels and a ledge about twenty centimeters wide sticking out and about half covered in various glass vases and planters filled with growing foliage.

The whole thing was amazing, and I couldn't wait to take a bubble bath, but it was getting late, and I still had to break it to Scorpius that he'd be getting up ever three hours the whole night. I quickly put things up, leaving my everyday make-up in a stubby glass jar on the counter, and reluctantly shut the light off before silently going back down to the common room.

I'd been wondering how long Scorpius would last before he had a melt down, and now I had my answer. Apparently _this_was how long he'd last.

He was shaking slightly, and I could hear the sobs responsible for the movement. Luckily, Charlotte didn't seem to care and was still sleeping happily in her uncle's arms.

"Scorpius?"

"What?" he said, his voice coming out scratchy and gravelly. Well, this didn't seem like the best time to tell him about how his night would be unfolding. And what how was he going to cope if she cried, as babies invariably do? So, the options are a) have him get up on his own with her, and possibly spontaneously combusting, b) get up _with_the two of them myself or c) take care of Charlotte myself tonight, which would keep her happier, give him time to grieve his sister and get me back to bed faster. Plan C it is, then. It had taken me a minute to come up with all of this, and Scorpius was looking at me expectantly from under his hair.

"She's going to need to be fed every three hours or so," I started, and his head whipped up, giving me yet another panicked look, "I'm thinking that maybe if you don't mind," mind? If he was _in_ his right mind, he'd want to kiss me for this offer. Then again, he's got no idea what getting up with a baby is like, and he's probably _not_in his right mind, "that Charlotte could sleep in my room tonight," here he visibly relaxes, although it's not by much, "and then you'll have all day tomorrow to get the hang of things before you've got to try it half asleep." And the gleam in his eye I'm learning means he's feeling claustrophobic about something is back.

"It'll be fine," I think that's going to be my catch phrase this year, "I'll spend the day showing you how to do everything."

"So, does that sound like a plan? I'll just take her for the night, and you can get some rest before tomorrow?"

He looked down at his niece, then up at me and gave that ghost of a smile again "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I know what to do, could do it in my sleep, which is what you've basically got to do for night feedings, and by tomorrow night, you'll be able to too."

"Okay then," He said, getting up gingerly and passing Charlotte to me, "I'll see you guys in the morning?"

"Yep. We'll be fine, won't we baby?" I said, as the little girl sleepily opened her eyes and blinked up at us.

He gave her a smile, a real smile, and walked up his stair case. That was easy. I gathered supplies and took her up to my room, Charlotte in one arm and her stuff, piled in her car seat and make-shift bed for the night in the other. I opened my door and she promptly started bawling her heart out.

Yeah, we'll be _fine_. It's going to be a _long_ night….


	3. Crashcourse in baby

**Rose POV**

I sighed and rolled over, then groaned as Charlotte started whimpering in the car seat next to my bed. I could see sunlight starting to peak through the cracks in the drapes, and the clock read 6:30am, which was pitifully early for a Saturday, especially when you'd been up till 11:30 the night before and woken up twice in the night with a squalling baby, who you didn't even know existed the morning before.

Not bothering to leave the bed, I hung over the side and lifted the baby out, settling her in the crook of my arm and pulling the comforter up around her chest. I was sure I'd need to change her nappy soon, but was hoping for a little more rest, if not sleep, first. She looked at me for a minute with big blue eyes, then yawned and settled in. I wondered if she'd been here before-snuggled in bed in the early morning hours. I'd never really seen much of Aphrodite, I just remembered a slim blonde girl, laughing with her friends or embarrassing her little brother by ruffling his hair or hugging him as he walked past. Certainly not enough to wonder about her life after she left Hogwarts, but now wonder I did. As I gazed down at her baby, I envisioned the blue-eyed beauty walking down the aisle to her groom, and pregnant, and holding her new baby. Laughing at something her husband said as she cradled her little girl or shushing him when he was too loud and the baby had just gone down; maybe watching the love of her life with her child on a quiet evening. Or Charlotte, nestled between her parents in bed, perhaps even the morning before, a complete and happy little family, just setting down roots. Only now Charlotte had been ripped out of her safe little cocoon, and a teenage boy was the only family she had left. Her fingers moved slightly and I was brought back to the present, watching her breathe, little tummy moving in and out, and trying to force myself out of bed. I'd imagined this very thing a few times, only I'd always placed myself at twenty-three, at the very least, and, as I'd wondered if Aphrodite had, bringing my baby back to bed with my husband. If my 'soul mate' had been involved I doubt I could have been bothered, but as it was, I sighed for the second time that morning and got out of bed. Charlotte seemed to have gone back to sleep, so I surrounded her with pillows and ran into the bathroom to use the restroom and wash my face before she woke up.

The bathroom was even more amazing in the light of the early morning, if that was possible. There were glass balls holding colorful air plants hanging from the ceiling; the light was starting to stream in through the windows, and I realized that some of the glass containers holding plants contained mostly water and were growing miniature lilies. The light played through the water and threw patterns on the floor as I quickly tossed my hair into a pony tail and washed my face. Then I changed Charlotte's nappy and found a tiny pink onsie with a ruffle on the bottom to put her in for the day. After a quick bottle and burp I settled her in her car seat and brought it into the bathroom with me so I could keep an eye on her while I put some make-up on to hide the dark purple circles under my eyes. As I threw on concealer, eyeliner and mascara I rocked the baby seat with my foot, desperately hoping she'd go to sleep so we could eat breakfast in peace, since it seemed for now, my peace was linked to Scorpius's.

Oh crap. Breakfast. Baby. Scorpius. Great Hall. Family…

Well, it wouldn't be boring, that's for sure. I ran a brush through my hair again, grabbed a hair band, slipped it over my wrist, and carried Charlotte back in my room to dress. _Boring is overrated, anyway, right?_

I grabbed a pair of dark skinny jeans, shoved my feet into gray ballet flats, threw on a dark gray tank top and tossed a sheer, blue plaid blouse over the top, leaving the first three buttons open, and dashed a quick e-mail off to my mum-

_Hey Mum! _

_Got to Hogwarts okay. Had a bit of a surprise, Scorpius Malfoy is Head Boy. And his sister died yesterday. So his niece is going to be living in the Heads Dorm. Wanted to let you know before we go down to breakfast and half the Wizarding world lines up to tell you. Got any advice? _

_Love you!_

_-R_

_ps-you know I'm not talking to dad, so..._

_I don't care how he finds out, but if you do, it's all yours. Or maybe Nana would like to tell him his daughter is fraternizing with the enemy. Grrr, why did he have to make everything so hard? At least you're sane._

_xoxo. _

I quickly sent the e-mail before snatching the nappy bag, my purse, a book, a blanket and Charlotte and slipping down to the common room.

When Scorpius came down and I glanced up from my book, it was 8 o'clock. _An hour gone, just like that_, I thought. Of course, once I was up and dressed, the baby slept like an angel. He was still in what I assumed were his PJs, green plaid flannel pants and an alarmingly tight gray shirt, and stopped at the foot of the stairs. The sun lit up his hair from behind, and I smiled at him for a minute, distracted by the halo of light around his head, hair slightly curling on the ends, shifting Charlotte on my chest where she rested. I hadn't been able to resist her, and after five minutes of trying to read with her in the car seat, had put her on my chest to sleep while I read and watched her. There's something incredibly distracting about a baby sleeping, how calm and perfect they look. Her hand was curled over my heart, and I laid my book face down on my legs as I unconsciously tugged the blanket over both of us up a bit, tucking it around her as Scorpius walked over.

"I guess it wasn't just a bad dream, then." He said, voice still husky from sleep. I could see the weight of the world descending on him as he sat down on a huge square footstool in front of my chair, gently nudging my feet over almost absentmindedly.

"I wish I'd had enough sleep to have a bad dream," I dryly responded. Apparently I was going to be 'funny' today. Read: sarcastic.

He cringed, and then had the good sense to look chagrined. "Sorry. Was she horrible?"

"She's a baby," again, with the dryness. Looks like sarcastic-me is hanging around today. "There's really nothing for it," I explain, softening at the look on his face.

"Oh…"

Who knew that one little word could be so loaded?

"You ready to get some breakfast? I'm starving, but I didn't want to take her without you knowing…"

"Thanks. Yeah, let's go eat," he said unenthusiastically, looking vaguely nauseous at the mention of food. "I'll just go change."

He came back down five minutes later in the same distracting gray tee shirt, jeans and a fleece jacket.

I pulled the blanket off, closed my book, stuffed it in my bag and stood up, all one-armed and almost giggled at the look on Scorpius's face. Pure…how-am-I-_ever_-going-to-pull-that-off-?.

"It's really not that hard," I told him, and he looked at me like I was [slightly] crazy. "You want to carry her down?" he looked at me like I had just suggested we take her to the moon. "Or I could…" I trailed off, not sure what else to say, as she seemed to sleep better being held. Oh, I could tell him that…

"Um, no, it's okay, just, how are will I eat?"

I had, actually, eaten while holding a baby before, but I assumed this would sound akin to juggling to him and went with a simple "There's a baby sling, or I'll take her. She seems to rest better when she's being held."

He nodded at me, and I passed the sleeping baby over to him. He didn't seem to know quite what to do with her, and I lifted her in his arms so she was laying with her head on his shoulder.

She stirred, and snuggled her head into his neck, bringing her fingers up to grasp the collar of his shirt. I felt my lips tug upward as I stuffed the nappy bag, my purse, and the sling into the baby seat. "Just in case," I explained.

And then we walked out of the common room and into the real world.

The other students openly stared and gawked as we headed for the Great Hall, and I had a brief moment of _why am I part of this insanity again?_ before I remembered the overwhelmed look on Malfoy's face the night before, and the whole _Rose always helps everybody _thing.

But that thought went out the window when we sat down and my cousins descended. I barely had time to load up my plate before they hit the table. Dom was first, having shot out of her seat like someone had hexed her. Oh, wait. Someone had. Louis was standing behind what used to be her chair, wand out, smug grin firmly in place. I was convinced at least half of his glee when he got his letter this summer was because he was going to be here to pester all of us full ti-

"Would you like to tell me what's going on?" Dom whisper-shrieked in my ear.

I looked at her calmly, if a bit blearily. "Yes. Sure. _That_ is Malfoy," I said, pointing like I would if she was a toddler, "and _that_ is Malfoy's niece."

"Oh." Again, with the loaded word. I could hear the tiny gears turning in her brain, something along the lines of "and what are you doing with them?" was formulating, I was sure. Never mind how he got a _baby_, it's why _I _was involved that would have my family worked up. And here comes Al. And Hugo, and Lily, and Louis slinking along a bit behind her, as if sweet little Lily could protect him from his sister's wrath. Molly and Lucy followed behind, looking righteous. How could you find your own cousins quite so obnoxious, I'm not sure, but I did. I was all for prim and proper, but geesh!

"Uh, Rosie?" as all Al said, but I knew what he meant. We'd been close growing up, and our names could mean anything from "hello" to "Oi! What'd you do that for?" to "you're the best…now pass the cookies".

"Malfoy's niece. Her parents died in a car crash yesterday. He's got custody." After that inspiring speech, I yanked Al down next to me and rested my head on his shoulder. "And now, I'm tired."

"Why?" he asked, looking mystified.

"Because I was up all night," I mumbled, reaching for a strawberry. Molly arrived just in time to hear my last two comments and utter a prissy little _gasp_.

"With the _baby_." I clarified, glaring daggers and picking up another piece of fruit.

And with that, everyone started talking at once, with the exception of Al, who simply helped himself to a piece of French toast on my plate and watched our family like anyone else would watch a circus. Dom just plopped down next to Malfoy and started questioning him. I'd shut my eyes, but I could hear her, with the faint French accent she'd picked up during her two months in the French countryside this summer. She was launching straight into a _what, where, when and how_ line of questioning.

I opened my eyes a crack and peered out from Al's shoulder, popping a grape in my mouth. Scorpius was trying to figure out how to keep the baby on his shoulder and still get food onto his plate. Dom seemed to realize that he could barely manage the multi-tasking he was already attempting and shut her mouth. I precariously tried to get a spoonful of cereal to my mouth, only to have half of Al and my jean-clad legs. It stopped half a second before it would have hit, courtesy of Albus's silent spell. I smiled my thanks and gave up on the whole resting-and-eating idea. When I lifted my head I noticed Dom looking appraisingly at Malfoy and Charlotte, before lifting her hands up to take the baby. Surprise flashed across Scorpius's face, and my face too, I was positive. Sure, we weren't the mortal enemies our parents had been, but none of the Weasley clan had ever been even slightly friendly with the Malfoy crew. Honestly, yesterday I was pretty sure McGonagall was out of her mind placing us together, and now my cousin was offering to hold Malfoy's niece.

Scorpius shot a glance at me, and I nodded my head, since my mouth was full with food. I had, thankfully, inherited more of my mother than my father, and could refrain from speaking with a full mouth. I, at first glance, didn't even look distinctively 'Weasley'. My brown hair did have coppery-red undertones, and my arms became more freckled by the year, but at least I didn't stick out like a sore thumb like my uncles did. Actually, not many of us Weasley grandchildren have the trade mark look. Lily is the spitting image of her mom, but James and Al both have Uncle Harry's dark mop, and Vic and Dom are Veela pale and beautiful. Louis and Hugo are both more typically 'Weasley', and so are Uncle Percy's girls, but Uncle George's kids had all inherited Aunt Angelina's gorgeous mocha colouring.

While my family started simmering down, the rest of the school was clearly just getting going, quietly, and not so quietly, whispered gossip was flying around the Great Hall, and eyes were casting furtive glances at the table where we were seated. It was annoying, and if I'd been thinking about the school's reaction, not totally unexpected. But still. Pointing, _really_?

Breakfast finished fairly uneventfully, as long as your definition of uneventful includes four girls asking if Charlotte was my secret baby, '_ugh, Malfoy?_'; and seven guys from Slytherin stopping by the table to offer Malfoy their condolences on having gotten me pregnant and my saddling him with a baby. Al just about took out the last five, after shooting futile warning glares at the others, and Malfoy looked ready to hex his house-mates by the last three. Me, I lunged at the first one and had to be held back.

McGonagall came in part way through breakfast, ate for five minutes, seemed to finally notice the pandemonium Charlotte had unwittingly created, and stood up.

"Good morning students."

The volume only reduced about ten percent.

"Whoever is still talking in ten seconds gets detention!" she thundered. I smirked at Al, until Charlotte started wailing in Dom's arms. Could a baby get detention? I passed Dom the pacy that I'd stuck in my back pocket earlier across Malfoy, who was staring at his niece in alarm.

"There will be a very young child at Hogwarts indefinitely this year."

Very young. There's a nice way of putting it.

"She is Kevin and Aphrodite Hall's daughter, and Mr. Malfoy has custody of her."

Yes, because everyone knows which Mr. Malfoy she's talki-

"Oi, what does the old DE have to do with a _baby_?" some smart-alec Second Year boy with a Gryffindor tie and no mental filter shouted before I could even finish my thought, using the casual DE abbreviation for Death Eater our generation is so fond of. Personally, I think they do it to make them seem less real and intimidating, which seems kind of dumb and short-sighted to me.

"_Scorpius_ Malfoy is the baby's uncle, and I will not tolerate casual reference to Death Eaters in this school."

_Ha._

"I expect everyone to be supportive and pleasant to the young Mr. Malfoy. What he's attempting is best for Charlotte, but is not going to be easy on him.

"That is all. Please refrain from gossiping and staring while you finish your breakfast."

Uhuh, because you can just turn off hundreds of gossiping teens and tweens by _asking them to stop_. Sure. But I had bigger fish to fry, because McGonagall was walking towards us.

"Do you both have everything you need out of the dorm before I sent people up to make the adjustments we talked about last night?" she asked.

"Yup," I told her, glancing at Scorpius. He was flashing a panicked look around the Great Hall, so I tacked on "and I have all of Charlotte's things too. Do you need anything else Scorpius?"

"No," he said, relief colouring his tone.

"Good," our Headmistress said, "we should be done by mid-afternoon."

"You done eating?" I asked him.

"Yes."

"Ready for a crash-course in baby?"

"No…"

Well then. This'll be loads of fun.

It was three o'clock before Uncle Nevile found us by the Great Lake, me napping, Scorpius staring at Charlotte kicking her legs and waving her hands in awe.

"The dorm is done guys," He told us, after gently shaking me awake, "it looks just like her room at your sister's place."

"That's _good_." Scorpius said.

"Minerva asked me to let you know that we got all of Charlotte's things from the house, and cleared the kitchen of perishables, but other than that, the house is just the way Aphrodite left it. You control of everything until Charlotte turns seventeen, so the house will have to be dealt with at some point, but it's not an immediate need.

"How are you doing?" Uncle Nevile's voice was the right mix of professional and caring, a tone that had made me spill my guts many times in years past.

"Alright I guess. Rose has been a big help," he answered. Ah, the classic super-short boy conversation.

"You guys need any help with this stuff?" Uncle Nevile asked, straightening.

"Nah, it's okay Unc- Professor," I quickly corrected myself, since we weren't supposed to 'Uncle' him around other kids. There'd been a bit of a fiasco the first year James II and Fred II were here. Teddy and Vic had managed to be discreet, but the Seconds, as they were nicknamed, had pulled a rather elaborate prank involving Uncle Nevile and singing underwear. Not so good.

When we arrived at the Heads Dorm, it looked like a baby store had thrown-up. There were stuffed animals, boxes, a play yard, a baby swing, and a bouncy seat strewn across the floor and furniture. There was a new door in between the staircases leading to our rooms, separated from the common room by three steps. I gingerly navigated the maze of baby paraphernalia, waving my hand at Scorpius's "Sorry about all this," and tossing a glare over my shoulder when he kept going with "But I'm re-". He had the good sense to shut up, thank goodness.

The nursery itself was uncluttered. The window was open, and sheer white curtains flapped in a late-summer breeze. There was a pale oak sleigh crib, and matching changing table, a large padded rocker by the window and a slightly open door showed an empty closet. The walls were painted a barely-there warm grey, and the theme seemed to be honey bees, judging from the cluster bee-themed artwork on the wall, the honey-comb and bee mobile hanging over the crib and the patterns on various fabrics in the room. There was green laced throughout, and the as a whole room reminded me of a meadow.

"Ready to move her in?" I asked, as I tossed my hair up in a pony-tail.

"Sure," Scorpius said, facing the common room and looking a little shell-shocked, so I took the sleeping Charlotte from him and laid her on her stomach in the crib. As I turned to walk out the door and caught sight of the common room once more, I could feel the shell-shocked look appear on my face as well.

"That's a lot of baby stuff," I mumbled.


	4. Growing Pains

**Scorpius POV**

I still can't believe my sister is gone. Aphrodite is dead. Death was the complete opposite of that girl. She was always doing something, always moving, always talking or thinking or planning. The stillest I ever saw her was when we got the news that Mum had died. And now she was gone too. Our father had retreated into himself when Mum passed, spending long hours at work, only to come home a steal off to his study, leaving me to my own devices the few time I had to be home. Aphrodite and Kevin had only been married six months, but they opened their doors to me at time I needed to come over. I'd spent more time than I cared to think about at the moment over at the town house they'd gotten just outside of London the past two summers. Aphrodite looked like she was going to burst the last month before Charlotte was born, and the whole nest-building, broody thing really kicked in about that time too. She was so excited though, they both were. Kevin had become the brother I'd never had, and he was going to make an excellent father.

Some people you just say that about, "Oh, he'll be a great dad,", even if it's not the truth. But he had been calm and steady and good, perfect for my sister, who was always a little skittish of men, after our family's track record. They'd painted Lottie's room the muggle way, and I'd taken pictures because I thought it was so funny, only I'd gotten too close and Kev had gotten paint on my arm. After that, Aphrodite had had an easy time of convincing me to join them. So I could get Kevin back, of course.

I rounded the last corner and wearily informed the portrait "sleep deprived", the obnoxious painting of a cherub's idea of a joke in the form of our password. I heard the faintest of sounds, and followed my ears towards Charlotte's room. I had just finished Quidditch practice, and was beat. In the universe's idea of a prank, I'd also been made Captain of my team this year, something I'd been ready to give up after I found out about Lottie, until Rose stepped in and offered to watch her during practices and games. In her sweet, firm way, she'd informed me that "you should have some down time. You'll be better for Charlotte that way." I was still sputtering at her when she added "Besides, I love babies, we'll have fun." and then gave me that look, the one that says _it's settled, then_. No question mark on the end, not for Rose Weasley.

I could make out the sound of Rose's voice now, talking to Charlotte. I peeked through the partially open door and realized I was wrong. She was sitting in the rocker, Lottie facing out, a book spread over both their laps, the mid-October sunset painting the room golden. Her hair was pulled over one shoulder, and she was gently rocking them with her toes, murmuring something about "_Goodnight moon,_" while Charlotte sucked on a pacy. Lottie was in pale pink footie pajamas with flowers on it, and Rose was swaddled in the perpetual sweater, which slipped off her shoulder when her head popped up at my soft knock.

"I'm back. I'm going to go grab a shower, k?"

"That's fine," she smiled, at Lottie and went back to their book. I turned to go up my staircase, but curiosity got to me, and I turned back around. I opened the door all the way and walked it, and Rose's head popped back up, surprise in her eyes.

"_What_ are you reading her?"

"Erm.." she looked vaguely uncomfortable, "_Goodnight Moon_. I asked Mum to send me some of the books I liked when I was little."

"Oh," that was unexpected. She helped out with Charlotte, as promised, and offered advice, but she'd never been anything but detached around me. Like she was there, but holding herself back from fully _being_ there. It was obvious that Lottie brought out her maternal side, but she seemed to be holding herself back from her, too. It was puzzling, like she felt one thing, but wanted another. The lines that seemed perpetually between her eyes when I was around were back, and the corners of her mouth were turned down as she looked at me, twiddling the pages of the book between her fingers.

"Is it okay?" She asked, and I was about to ask why it wouldn't be when she kept talking, "I guess I should have asked before I read her Muggle books, but my grandparents got them for me, and Mum just sent them this morning, and…"

"Rose, its fine; I think it's really sweet that you wanted to share them with her."

"Oh. Okay then."

"I'm just gonna go…"

"Yeah,"

Walking up to my room, my mind was going a million miles a second. Why would I mind? It was so nice of her to have her mother send the books and read them to Lottie. She could have just stuck her in a seat, I probably would have. And _that_ was what bothered me. Not some Muggle books, which would surely have made my father go through the roof, but that I didn't know the first thing about being a parent, much less a _father_. Mine had tried, but he hadn't exactly had a great role-model, for pity's sake, grandfather had turned his son into a Death Eater before he was even an adult. What did I know, what did I have that my father hadn't? I'd barely begun to figure out how to be an uncle, and now I was supposed to be a dad, at seventeen. Lottie got bigger by the day it seemed, but I was the one feeling growing pains.

And Rose…

Just being her sweet, perfect self, always, it seemed, knew what to do for and with Charlotte. She was going to be an amazing mum someday. Which brought be back to Aphrodite, and how excited she was to be a mum. And how tiny, perfect little Lottie didn't have a mum anymore.

These are some wicked growing pains.


	5. Late NightsEarly Mornings

**Rose POV**

The next four months fly by. Scorpius gets used to taking care of an infant, and I help out where I can. Since he was made captain of the Quidditch team this year, I offered to keep Charlotte during practices and games. I play with my family, but don't really like being the center of attention in public, and I now, after years of hounding, mostly by family, have a legitimate reason to stay off the field. I get to know Scorpius fairly well, as we both get more comfortable being around someone we'd spent six years avoiding on principle. As the days and weeks and finally months wore by, first smiles and first Quidditch games merged in a crazy whirl-wind of activity.

I wake up at 6am, the sounds of Charlotte's wailing drifting up the stairs, and I can tell by the pitch that she's been at it for a while. I throw the covers back, sighing, grab for a sweater and fleecy boots since it's early December and the castle has gotten even colder and draftier than usual. I snatch my wand as my feet hit the floor and head for the door. As I slip down in the stairs, I can hear Scorpius begging her to quiet, the tone of his voice desperate.

"Hey. Need some help?" I ask, still half asleep.

"No!" he yelled, startling me. I hadn't finished gapping at him before he stepped closer, jiggling Charlotte, and looking contrite, muttering, "Yes. Maybe. I don't know. I've tried everything you ever told me, I looked in every book, I can't figure out why she won't quit!"

"You changed her nappy? Gave her a bottle? Remembered to burp her? She burped? Tried rubbing her back? Peddled her legs incase she's blocked?" I rattled off the standard list that my Mum had sent me, meanwhile trying to get my brain all the way awake.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, and _yes_. _Nothing is working_!"

"How long has she been at it?" I asked, noting the dark circles under his eyes, and the hysterical note of Charlotte's cry.

"Since 12am!"

Wow. Okay, then.

"Why didn't you come get me?" I asked, confused.

"Because, it's hard, really hard, but sooner or later I'm going to have to learn how to do it by myself. You won't always be in the bedroom next door to dig me out, at some point I'll be all by myself with her, and I wanted to get her back to sleep by myself." His voice shook a bit, and I could see the night taking its toll on him.

"I know it's hard. Life can be hard, it can be really hard. But that's why we have friends, and family sometimes, to help us. I know it's hard for you right now, but you'll be fine, you'll make it, you both will, and it'll all be worth it in the end." I say, trying to be encouraging, and reaching to take the flailing baby from his arms.

"What does perfect little Rose Weasley know about things being hard?" He shouted, jerking Charlotte away from me. She stopped for a second, looking up at her uncle in alarm, before going back to wailing, louder than ever. "Huh? What does the privileged Weasley golden girl know about difficulty or hardship or having to fight just to get people to stop assuming you're someone you're not?" Scorpius was breathing heavily, chest heaving, and Charlotte was going to break the sound barrier any second and I didn't really think now was the best time to tell him exactly how much I knew about 'hard'. Goodness knows I had plenty of experience with mad, out of control men, though, and I calmly looked at him.

"Maybe some day I'll tell you what I know about _hard_, but right now you're exhausted, so is Charlotte, and you're making _her_ cry by yelling at _me_." I hoped this would calm him down, but no such luck.

"She's _been_ crying. Yelling or no yelling, she's been screaming her bloody head off!"

"Well, I'm sorry!" I was stooping to his level now…or maybe climbing, since that's what my voice was doing. "I'm sorry she's crying, and has been, and I'm sorry I'm _too perfect_, apparently!" I took a deep breath, looked him in the eye, and made one last attempt to help with the baby "If you want to get some sleep, let me take the baby. If not, I'm going back to bed and silencing the door."

He gaped at me, and I crossed my arms and tapped my foot impatiently.

"What'll it be?"

He stared at me for another minute before the fire went out in his eyes and he resignedly handed me Charlotte. I watched him trudge to the stairs leading to his room as I bounced her, shoulders slumping and head hanging low.

I levitated her baby swing up the stairs and followed it up, jiggling Lottie in one arm as we went. I set the swing down and settled on my bed with her to take stock of the situation, laying her down in front of me. A quick assessment showed me she needed a clean nappy, and I figured I'd try a bottle too. I leaned down to blow a raspberry on her round little stomach before I took her to the nursery to change her, and my forehead brushed her chin, which was alarmingly warm. I lifted my head and pressed a kiss on her forehead, the universal test for baby fevers. She was burning up. I scooped her up, grabbed my wand back up, and flew into the nursery. I'd watched my aunts, cousins and other family members deal with a sick baby, but never dealt with it firsthand, and I tried to recall the rules for when to take the baby to a healer. It seemed like it was around 38 C, I thought as I rummaged in one of the drawers of the changing table for the pacifier that read temperatures. I glanced down a Charlotte, still screaming, and wondered how on earth I was supposed to get her to keep it in long enough to get a reading.

It turned out there was no way to get her to keep in it.

I put it in the first time; she laid there and sucked it experimentally for a few seconds, forehead wrinkled, and then spit it out. It landed on her tummy.

Next time, she paused in her crying just long enough to suck it twice, figure out it was the same thing she'd gotten rid of moments before, and spit it to her feet.

The third time she sucked it hard once, took a deep breath and spit the thing three feet.

We kept this up for five minutes. I'd put it in, she'd spit it out, somehow managing to increase the distance each time. By the time I had my big revelation-_bribe her!_-I was at my wits end.

I lifted her, shoved my wand into my right boot and the pacy into my sweater pocket, and made my way to the kitchenette that had been added along with the nursery at Charlotte's arrival, dropping her off in the bouncy seat that had a permanent place on the floor in the common room between the two chairs Scorpius and I favored. I quickly found the container with left over icing in it from when I'd talked to Mum during a melt-down and she sent a care package. I quickly scooped a little onto my finger and wiped it on the pacy. I walked over it her and gently put it in, holding my breath while she experimentally sucked on it. After a few seconds, it seemed like she was going to keep it, so I actually let myself breathe.

The pacy dinged, and I pulled it out, at which I pulled it out and sighed in relief-she had a fever, at 37 C, but it wasn't at the healer limit. I took her back to her room and left her in the crib while I rummaged in the changing table for baby Tylenol to bring the fever down. Mum had stocked us up on the Muggle remedy's she'd used on Hugo and I, because I knew what to do with them from when Hugo was little and Scorpius, somehow, didn't mind. She took the grape medicine, and I carried her over to the rocker by the window, snagging two of my favorite books, _Good Night Moon_ and _Guess How Much I Love You_ on the way over to settle in for the long haul.

By the time Scorpius wandered in, we'd read _Good Night_ Moon seven times, _Guess How Much I Love You _five, and been through the entire Beatrix Potter series twice.

"How is she?" he asked, blinking in even the soft, subdued light in the nursery.

"Fine; she had a temperature, but it's already come down. She's had a bottle, she's still fussy, but at least she's not shattering the sound barrier anymore."

He smiled feebly at me and slid to the ground at my feet, back against the wall, head tipped back. He sat like that for a minute, first closing his eyes, then opening them and watching me hold Lottie's tiny fingers. He swallowed, Adam's apple bobbing, and opened his mouth, before shutting it again and closing his eyes once more.

I went back to _Peter Rabbit_, and was three pages from the end when he finally spoke.

"Thank you,"

"You're welcome,"

"I shouldn't have yelled,"

"No," I agreed, before amending, "but you were tired and stressed. Besides, I know how to deal with angry men."

He looked at me at that, and after a few moments, his eyes got sad.

"I won't be angry again," he promised.

"Yes you will," he looked upset at my lack of faith, and I tacked on, "It's part of life," with a shrug and my own sad look. Charlotte yawned, and I lifted her to my shoulder and started rocking her, rubbing circles on her back. He smiled at us, and reached an arm up to catch her hand, at which point _I _couldn't help smiling. For all the faults I'd perceived he'd have, he really was a good guy, and a great uncle. Most guys I knew, outside my family, because most of us are pretty exceptional, wouldn't have even tried to take care of an infant. Last night was the most out of control I'd ever seen him, and after my childhood, it really wasn't that bad.

I was deep in these musing when he spoke again.

"You know, you're going to be a great Mum," he unexpectedly volunteered, running a finger up and down Lottie's knuckles. The look on my face must have been a kicker, because he instantly started back-pedaling, "I…it's just you're so great with Charlotte…kind of remind me of Aphrodite…and Mum…Aw, crap, I'm sorry Rose!"

Oops. That must have been a really bad expression.

"Don't be sorry. It was really sweet, I just wasn't expecting it, that's all. I've always wanted babies, children…it's just…"

Crap, I had to get out of here before I come clean to someone other than my family about just how bruised and broken and raw and not okay I am. Because, the truth is, all I've ever wanted was to be a mum, but the idea of getting married, of trusting a man that completely, of being so vulnerable scares me so, so bad. So I get crushes, and I watch them from afar and giggle about it with my Mum and Dom and keep my glued-back-together heart safe. And I need out of here, now, before I spill my guts to this beautiful boy who is nothing like I thought he'd be, and maybe not exactly, but pretty close to what I always thought I wanted.

"I think she's asleep, where do you want her?" I asked, kind of abruptly, I think, because Scorpius looked surprised, but still managed to tell me, "In her crib please,"

I laid her on her belly and levitated the books back on the shelves, before I slipped out of the nursery and left Malfoy sitting on the floor with a confused look pulling his eyebrows together.

I made my way to my room to finally get dressed, and as I tugged on jeans and wriggled a cowl-neck sweater over my head, I wondered where the sudden urge to talk came from. Sure, people knew things hadn't always been perfect, but almost no one outside the family knew just how bad they'd been, and still were. And of the people that knew, few, even within my family, knew what a hard time I'd had. I grabbed the book I'd been reading and went down to the common room to have breakfast and read. McGonagall had fully stocked the kitchenette for times like this, when we'd missed the meal in the Great Hall because of Charlotte, although she'd been very clear that we were only allowed to eat in the dorm during emergencies. I grabbed some granola and coconut greek yogurt and settled into my favorite chair.

Twenty minutes later my bowl was empty but the pages of my book remained unturned as my thoughts wandered unchecked back into the nursery. My brother, cousins and I would be leaving the next Saturday to go home for the Christmas holiday season. Scorpius, was, unsurprisingly, not going anywhere. After Mr. Malfoy, after one letter ordering Scorpius to turn over custody of Charlotte and one letter informing him he'd be taking legal action, had completely ignored only living child for three months, only to send an owl inviting him home for the holidays, but only if he left Lottie at the end of break. After that I asked Mum if he could come to our house for break, and she'd been fine with it, but I'd spent the last week and a half trying to decide if _I_ was okay with it. It would be strange and weird and awkward, I was afraid, having him in my home, with my family, eating meals with my family and him. I sighed and followed my thoughts to the nursery door. Lottie must have not gone to sleep, because Scorpius was sitting in the rocker with her balanced on his knees, talking to her and holding her hands.

"It's just going to be you and I for Christmas, okay?"

Charlotte gurgled.

"We'll be fine without Auntie Rose, right?"

Well, that answered that question. He was obviously thrilled to be getting rid of me for two weeks.

"I hope so, because she's going home to her actual family,"

Ouch.

"so we've got to be fine, okay baby?"

Charlotte started fussing.

"Yeah, I know baby girl. I know." He said, lifting her to his shoulder and rubbing circles on her back like I had been only half an hour before.

Wait, did that mean he _wasn't_ happy I was leaving? Why are guys…men…always so hard to figure out? Why is it always so difficult to figure out why they do the things they do?

"Knock-knock," I said, slipping in.

"Hey," he flashed me a tired, worn smile. I think that tug was my heart pulling on my brain.

"Hey…" oh boy, I have the strangest feeling… "I was wondering," that my mouth is going to talk without consulting my brain, "if you wanted to come home with me for Christmas break," and there it went. Crap, the boggart is out of the closet now.

"Uh…"

Crap, crap, crap. Maybe he really was looking forward to some time without me around.

"Or, you know, not. I just thought I'd ask. Either way," I say quickly. Please say yes, please say yes. No, no, no. Scorpius, around my family that much, for that long? Please say no, please, please say no…

"What do you think Lottie?" he asked the baby, lifting her off his shoulder and looking her in the eye. "You want to spend Christmas with Rose?" She stopped fussing and looked right back at him, then started bouncing on her chubby little legs and smiling. "I'll take that as a yes," he decided, "We'll come."

I smiled faintly at the two of them.

"You're sure your family will be okay with this?" he asked after a minute, suddenly looking worried.

"Yeah, it'll be fine," gulp, just _peachy_, I was sure, "I already asked Mum. Anyway, Nana is always happy to have an extra mouth to feed, and the boys will be thrilled to have another player for Quidditch."

This was going to be one _interesting_ Christmas.


	6. Secrets

**Rose POV**

It started when we got on the train. Dom and Al had met us in the foyer and we all rode to the train together, which was fine. They've both come and hung out at the Heads Dorm, and Dom has totally fallen for Lottie's charms (not hard to do, especially when she's not keeping you up at night howling.). Then we got the train, and the three of us headed straight to the compartment we always all pile in, with Scorpius trailing behind. Al and Dom, with Charlotte, went in and I followed them in, only to realize that I didn't have someone behind_ me_, where Scorpius was supposed to be. I poke my head out and find him staring at the door a few feet away with his hands shoved in his pockets and a lost look on his face.

"Are you coming?" I ask, flashing a smile.

"Oh, yeah; I'm coming," he said, looking vaguely uncomfortable and surprised at the turn of events.

"Whoa. How do you all fit in here?" he exclaimed as he tried to follow me in. Okay, so maybe, looking at it objectively, it looks a little crazy. And tight. Dom, Al, and Roxy were on one bench seat, and the other side of the compartment was packed with Luce, Molly and Lily, who looked put-out about having to sit next to Molly. Hugo was sitting on the floor leaning against Lily's legs, and Louis was doing the same with Dom.

"We just do," I said, plopping down next to Al and pulling Scorpius down with me by his wrist.

"Oh," he said, wiggle in the seat, trying to get comfortable. We were pressed up against each other from shoulder to knee, there was no room to move, and the contact was doing strange, fluttery things to my stomach. Dom would just_ love_ hearing about this. I can hear her now…_"_You two obviously have chemistry, and you know,it's okay to trust someone again_._ Besides, he isvery hot_._" She always spoke a mixture of French and English when other people were around and she didn't want them eavesdropping, and she would have liberally peppered her helpful little speech with her own brand of French, no doubt. Of course, it didn't work around the Delacour-Weasley's, but it worked like a charm on everyone else except for Al, because she and Victoire had taught us both French one long, lazy summer when the three of us were six. Not that I ever minded Al overhearing. Except when I was having a girly kind of emergency, then he couldn't ever hear, or else he'd tease me about it forever. Once we'd been out shopping and I'd whisper-yelled to Dom that "_Je ne trouve pas ma lèvre brillant préférés!_" because we were going into my favorite bookstore with the clerk I had a crush on. He's still teasing me about freaking out about my missing lip gloss. Keep in mind, I was thirteen at the time.

Louis twisted around on the floor and started playing with Lottie's hands and feet, and she gurgled happily. He looked at Scorpius after a few minutes and opened his mouth, then seemed to think better of it, because he snapped it shut. He lasted a whole sixty seconds before he was whispering at me "Can I hold the baby Rose?"

"Ask Scorpius. She's his niece."

"Oh. Never mind." He said, looking intimidated.

"He's not going to bite." I said a bit impatiently.

"I'm not?" Scorpius whispered in my ear. I peeked out of the corner of my eye to find him grinning down at me. "No, you're not." I turned and whispered back, smacking him playfully on the knee, then whipped back around after getting preoccupied with my head unnaturally close to his neck. It wasn't my fault, really, that I got distracted. He was tanner than any Malfoy I'd ever seen or heard of, and his blond hair was curling over the neck of his sweater distractingly.

"It's fine if you want to hold her…Louis?" Scorpius told my slightly cowed little cousin, voice raised at the end in question. He was still trying to remember everybody's names.

"Yep, that's Louis." I muttered, after hearing the hesitation and question in his voice. The eleven year-old grinned and took the baby from his sister, who immediately turned to Al and started talking animatedly with her hands about the "_Noël énorme blague,"_

I was sure the adults would be horrified if they knew about the big Christmas prank that the two of them had been planning in French for weeks. I was horrified, for that matter. It wasn't sounding too much like Christmas was going to go smoothly in any way.

The rest of the train ride passed in a blur.

: My Mum, and the rest of the crazy clan, were waiting at Platform 9 ¾ when we go there, arms out for hugs all around. Scorpius had reclaimed Charlotte, who'd been playing musical laps the entire train ride, before we got off, and was now trying to blend in with the students rushing everywhere, hanging back from the happy family reunion that was taking place. I disentangled myself from Aunt Ginny's tight grip to once again pull Scorpius along.

"Mum, Scorpius. Scorpius, Mum…er, Mrs. Weas-"

"Please, call me Hermione. I'm so glad you decided to come."

"Thank you. We're very glad we decided to come too, aren't we Lottie." Mum melted at the sight of Lottie, bundled up in the pink coat and fuzzy white hat.

"May I?" she asked, putting her arms out.

"Yeah, sure; someone, I'm not sure who, just gave her a bottle, so she should be plenty happy."

"That was _me_," I reminded him tartly, "and _you_ were sitting right next to me."

"You know how I am at remembering things," he said, shrugging apologetically and flashing what I'm sure he thought was a charming smile. It was, but there was no need to tell him that.

"Dad says we're about to go," Dom said, bouncing up and taking one look around, she broke out in our mixed up Frelish, the name we'd come up for it at fourteen, "Well, well, well, isn't _ce confortable_. And _il essaie d'être charmant._ Are you _tomber pour elle_?"

I mentally translated, _Well, well, well, isn't this comfortable. And he's trying to be charming. Are you falling for it?_

"Maybeh," I hedged, then switched the Frelish with her, "_Un peu_." _A bit_.

She grinned. "I knew it! _Combien_? " _How much_, she wanted to know. Greeeat, I really wanted to own up to this in the middle of the train station. But if I didn't she'd go all Veela-temper on me, either now or later, so…

"Er…._beaucoup_…" _A lot_.

"Haha," Dom practically cackled before Aunt Fleur walked up and Dom quickly composed herself, "I knew it!" she said with a conspiratorial smile as she gave me a fast hug, promising "See you in a day or two!" before dashing off with her family, still grinning like a mad woman, racing because they were already a meter ahead.

Crap, had Al been around while I was talking with Dom? Not that I could see, but with this group, you never can tell.

It was later than night, and everyone but Scorpius and I were in bed. Mum had gone up an hour before, promising that she's "a light sleeper," and cheerfully mentioning that she "can't stand sleeping with my door shut. Hope you don't mind Scorpius," before taking her tea and going up. Our house was fairly large, and just down the road from Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur's place. When Grandmum and Granddad Granger died, Mum had inherited a fairly sizable amount of money, and used part of it to buy this place. Dad was working in America at the moment, which meant he couldn't Apparate home, which was how I'd explained his absence to Scorpius. I wasn't quite ready to get into the whole my-dad-is-a-jerk-and-I'm-still-hung-up-on-it thing yet, and Scorpius didn't seem to be interested in prying.

We were currently half way through a muggle movie that had come out the previous summer involving two people who can't stand each other being willed the same baby. Clichéd, yes, but Dom and I loved these kinds of movies. He'd seen the title, and said that's what he'd felt like after he got Lottie. I told him the premise of the movie quickly and offered other titles I figured he'd like better, but he'd wanted to see how muggles would do in the same situation, so here we were, finding out. We'd started out on opposite ends of the sofa, but he'd pulled one huge bowl out when I'd made popcorn and insisted in was silly to dirty two when we were sitting on the same couch. Then he'd followed my back into the living room with the popcorn and pulled me down next to him. I tucked me feet under me, ate the popcorn and tried to suspend my cynicism for the male gender.

"She never would have gotten together with him if they hadn't been stuck together because of the baby," he pronounced when the movie was over.

"Nope. I sure wouldn't have," I agreed. The guy in this movie is a pain in the neck, selfish and, quite frankly, an all-around jerk. Plus, he drinks, which is unforgivable in my book. But that's just my daddy-issues talking. His one redeeming quality is his love for the baby he'd been entrusted with.

Scorpius was staring musingly at the screen as the credits rolled in the dark room, and his eyebrows started puckering. At some point, my feet had made their way onto his footrest, and I poked him with one sock-covered foot.

"What's wrong Scorp?"

"Wha? Nothing. Nothing's wrong."

"I don't buy that," I informed him.

"Too bad," he started getting up, and I grabbed his arm. He let me pull him back down, and sat there looking at me.

"What's bothering you?" I tried again.

"What if the same thing happens to me?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Say I meet this great girl, but she only likes me because of Lottie. Or maybe she won't give me the time of day because of Lottie."

I wasn't sure what to say to that, but I tried anyway, "There's a girl out there, somewhere, who'll love you _and_ Lottie."

"How can you be so sure? I figured I'd have plenty of time to date, and it seemed like it was less stressful to stay out of the whole dating fiasco at Hogwarts. But now, I wish…I wish I had a girl I knew cared about me, just me, but could handle Lottie too." he heaved a sigh and dropped his head onto the back of the sofa.

"You'll find her. When the time is right, you'll find her," I encouraged, propping my elbow on the sofa back by his head.

"Right now, I'd settle for getting rid of all the bimbos hanging around wanting to play mummy with Charlotte," he muttered.

I smirked and smothered a laugh. They _were_ kind of obnoxious and creepy, but I, personally, just found them really, really annoying. One Fifth Year girl actually tried to take Lottie away from me one Saturday in October while we were out by the Great Lake waiting for Scorpius to finish Quidditch practice, telling me it was " Time to give everyone else a turn with the baby…and Scorpius," That was just strange.

"Really," he continued, oblivious to my trip down memory lane, "why do they think I need their help so bad? Maybe if you weren't around," here he cracked an eye and grinned sheepishly at me. I'd discovered the last few months that the trademark Malfoy smirk was mostly for show. I preferred his genuine grin much more, anyway. "But I think we do alright.

"You aren't getting tired of us, are you?" he asked, but cut me off before I could say anything when I opened my mouth, "Because, if you are, I could accept some more help," he said, grin gone, all seriousness.

"Ha! And let those bimbos get their grubby hands on poor little Charlotte? Not a chance. You guys are stuck with me, at least until school lets out.

"Now, the big question is, bed or another movie?" I finished, effectively changing the subject.

"Did I see something about _assassins_ earlier?" he asked, giddy grin coming back to his face.

Guess that answers that question.

It was two days later, on Christmas Eve, and everyone had slept in late. Mum was had just finished feeding Lottie a bottle when she started screaming for seemingly no reason. Scorpius started to get up from his breakfast, but I put my hand on his knee.

"It's okay, I'll get her, I'm finished anyway," I told him, and walked over to Mum. "Hey baby girl, what's wrong," I asked, tweaking her sleeper-covered feet. She continued bawling, but held her arms out to me. "I know baby," I cooed, bouncing her and patting her back. We settled back into my chair next to her uncle and she started quieting down. By the time the knock sounded on the front door a minute later, she was happily patting my arm and watching Scorpius eat French toast and drip syrup all over his plate.

"We'll get it," I said, walking with Lottie through the hall to the door. I opened it to find Dom and Al, plus Roxy, James, Fred, Lily, and Louis standing on our porch, every one of them already dressed, and staring at me in my flannel pajamas like I was a crazy person.

"You have any plans?" Dom asked, barging in. I opened my mouth to answer, but James cut me off. "Cancel them! We're going to Diagon Ally," he informed me.

While I gaped at them, Dom spun around and wrinkled her forehead. "What are you guys waiting for?" she asked, speaking to her brother and our cousins, still standing on the step, "it smells like Aunt Hermione's been cooking!"

"It's never too late for a second breakfast," Fred agreed, leading the pack into my house. Mum wandered out of the kitchen, pulling the belt on her robe tighter. "Oh, good morning. Help yourselves, I'm going to go get dressed."

"Aunt Hermione," Dom yelled, once she was half way to the kitchen and Mum was almost at the top of the stairs, "can we kidnap Rose and Hugo? Oh, and Scorpius and the baby?"

Mum raised an eyebrow, "Dominique, _what_ would you mother say?" she asked, continuing up the stairs. We could hear her muttering to herself as she went, "Yelling? Honestly…"

Mum leaned over the top railing, and speaking in a normal talking voice, "Oh, and dear, kidnap away."

Really Mum, did you _have _to let her? And how could that normal volume seem so loud from that distance? I followed Dom into the kitchen and sat down by Scorpius with a sigh. He raised an eyebrow at me, and I cut my eyes over to Dom, who was loading up along with the rest of my family at the counter.

"What's she up to this time?" he asked quietly.

"Let me put it this way," I said, "how do you feel about a shopping trip?"

"No. _No_."

"Too bad, Mum just gave her permission to kidnap us," I smirked at the look of shock on his face.

"_Kidnap_ us?" he paled.

"That's what she said," I confirmed.

"All of us?"

"Yup."

"Crap."

"Uhuh.," I agreed in a sugar-sweet tone, grinning innocently at Dom as she sat down across from me and tossed a suspicious look my way.

"Noooo…" I muttered at the sight of another white-haired figure in a long skirt walking down the sidewalk at us. Scorpius grinned at me, "it's not that bad," he insisted. "Yeah, cause she's not strapped to _your_ chest," here I punctuated with a jab at the body-part in question, "so it's not _your_ face they're in," I ranted.

"They just want to say hello," Dom offered helpfully from behind.

"Zip it, Miss Cheerful,"

"I'll take her if you want," Scorpius naïvely offered.

"_Ha_. Guy with a baby? The old ladies will stick around twice as long, and any woman over eighteen will start bugging us too. I think _not_."

"Oh, what a sweet baby," said the fourth old lady to stop us in the last fifteen minutes.

"Yes, she is," I said, trying to edge away without being impolite (I blame my mother for the compulsion to always be pleasant and sweet to people. Ugh. Just once I'd like to chew someone out and not feel guilty.)

Scorpius was looking at Charlotte fondly, his shoulder pressed against mine, and the old lady noticed, grin spreading ever wider as she took us in. My cousins had fallen back, and were pretending to look at a Christmas shop display. In hindsight, I should have seen the next words out of her mouth coming.

"Such a beautiful family you have," she informed Scorpius, and, seemingly without pausing for breath continued, "Your wife is lovely," here she switched her grin to me, and kept going, "you look charming together. So hard to find couples anymore who look like they're made for each other." She muttered the last bit seemingly to herself, patting Scorpius' cheek and my shoulder before toddling off before we could correct her, oblivious to the blush she'd caused to spread over my face

"Hahaha…" Dom walked up, clearly beside herself with the insanity she'd just heard out of someone other than our family (a not-so-minor miracle).

"Classic!" Fred and James said at the same time, before going off into "Jinx," "Double jinx," "triple jinx," "double-double jinx,"

Lily stood there scrutinizing us, before turning to Hugh and whispering "They do kind of look good together, don't they?" I growled, and Scorpius had the nerve to come out of his stupefied state to look _amused_.

"You know," Dom said, "you really can't blame her, anyway,"

"And why's that?" I asked sharply.

"A), you guys do look good together," Dom whispered in my ear, "and b)," here she raised her voice, which took on the wait-for-the-punch-line quality she'd perfected over the years, "it's not her fault you wore your rose ring on your wedding band finger!"

At this, my cousins all craned around to stare at my hand. I looked down, and sure enough, the silver, rose shaped ring sat on the fourth finger of my left hand, the small sapphire embedded at the center sparkling and mocking me.

"Humpf," I said, yanking the ring off and switching it to my other hand before marching into the Leaky Cauldron with Charlotte, trailing a most of the youngest generation of Weasleys behind me, still in stitches from their amusement at my expense.

Charlotte did remarkably well, but after four hours of going into the various stores on Diagon Ally, she was getting fussy. I was actually kind of surprised to remember that she could be anything other than angelic, actually. We'd been into Uncle George's shop, which had made many weaker babies bawl, and she'd merely cooed in delight at the mayhem (I wasn't sure the adults would be quite so rapturous tomorrow when Dom and Al let loose the prank they'd been picking up supplies for. Roxie had noticed the large amount of strange things they were buying and cornered Al, refusing to un-corner him until he'd agreed she could help. He told me afterwards he didn't know why they hadn't enlisted her sooner. And they had James and Fred in on it…). She'd been as quiet as a church mouse in Flourish and Blots, and resignedly put up with her uncle setting her into no less than four rocking brooms at Quality Quidditch Supplies (the owners had realized that they could pull parents in even earlier than they got them for the toy brooms if they anchored the things to a stand and added a bucket seat and belt.). I'd dragged Dom and Al into the menagerie, after everyone else had started to peel off on their own to do last minute Christmas shopping, to stare at the kittens, but walked out empty handed.

Charlotte jerked me out of my thoughts about the small fuzzy bundles, but before I could suggest a trip back to the Leaky Cauldron for a feeding Dom lifted her out of my arms, unclipped the baby carrier, snagged the nappy bag from Scorpius and cheerfully informed us that "I'm tired of walking, I was going to go sit down anyway. We'll catch up with you guys later, bye!" before dashing off.

"Want to get a drink?" Scorpius asked, pointing at the café that had sprung up in the last few years, the Wizarding World's answer to the designer drink craze.

"Sure," I said, smiling. It wasn't often we were around each other without Lottie, and the silence felt a bit awkward. Soon enough, however, we were aimlessly wandering the streets and chatting like we'd know each other forever.

"So, why didn't you get one?" he asked after I showed him the same picture on my phone of the basket full of ragdoll kittens for the third time.

"I had a Siamese boy until Fifth Year, you might have seen him stalking around the castle, he loved getting out. And he was this huge chocolate point, kind of hard to miss, especially when he was yelling at you," I started.

"Bat-ears was _yours_?" Scorpius said incredulously.

"I'm sorry, _Bat-ears_?" I asked, aghast.

"There was this Siamese that used to come down to the Slytherin Common Room and demand attention. I thought he'd never stop growing, I was actually kind of surprised when he wasn't the size of a tiger when I came back for Fourth Year. Anyway, we kind of adopted each other and I didn't know what his name was, so I called him Bat-ears."

"Henry. His name was Henry. And I called him Bat-ears too. Only I called him _Ol'_ Bat-ears. And Batty. Well, anyway, at the end of fifth year, he got out, snuck into a classroom some random guy was practicing spells for O.W.L.s in, and, well, it didn't end well for Batty. And I never could bring myself to get another cat and 'replace' him." I explained.

"Oh. Do you think you'll ever want one again?" Scorpius wanted to know.

"Of course. I loved Crookshanks when I was little, and Mum has Bennie now, I'm sure he's planted herself on your bed at least once,"

"Yup," he affirmed.

"Those little ragdolls were really sweet, I might go back and get one before we go back to school if I have time. I just want to be really sure, you know? I hate rushing in to things," "Or," I mumbled to myself, "not knowing what's going to happen next,"

Just then a witch with a long gray braid passed us, and after doing a double take, stopped and said, "Rose? You've gotten so big! And Scorpius, you look like a man now!" I stared at her blankly, sure I should know her, and equally sure I had no idea who she was. Luckily, Scorpius did.

"Mrs. Panneiros, so good to see you," Scorpius said, ever the perfectly smooth gentleman.

"Yes, lovely to see you too," she told him, before turning to me, "how _is_ you father, Rose dear?"

Great. One of those people. Who feel the need to poke and prod and ask questions I never could answer completely or truthfully. "Oh, he's fine," I said, hoping she'd leave it at that.

No such luck. "It must be so hard to not have him around," she continued.

"We're managing," I stated, perhaps a bit sharply, hoping she'd take the hint.

"Is he going to be home for Christmas?" she doesn't take hints very well, does she?

"No, he's not," I said, "excuse us," I continued, reaching for Scorpius' wrist and pulling him away.

He gave me a confused look, so I explained, "I don't like snoops."

"And that's all? Her questions seem innocent enough," he prodded.

"Yup, that's all,"

"I don't buy that," he informed me, throwing my words from our late night, post-movie talk back at me.

I eyed him hesitantly over my hot chai before answering him, "Things aren't exactly _good_ with me and dad. I don't like talking about him to people I don't know really well, I never know what to say. And it's none of their business, anyway."

"Oh,"

"I just don't really like getting into the whole crappy saga," I told him.

"Oh," he said again.

I was tired of not telling him about it, sick of him not knowing. Sooner or later, I was going to need to trust people with my story, and men with my heart. And since the organ in question had developed the annoying habit of jumping whenever Scorpius walked in the room or smiled at me, it seemed like the time to try trusting someone new. "He started drinking when I was little. But old enough to remember how good things were before. And he had anger issues, he'd yell…he loved to say 'you're _wrooong,_.' when you'd argue with him. It's easier if I don't think about it"

"I'm sorry," he said, looking at me intently. I offered up a small smile and kept walking. After a few minutes, Scorpius broke the silence that had fallen.

"So, the whole 'he's in America' thing is what?" he asked.

"The truth. He _is_ in America. He was offered a job in New York, and…it was best for us for him to take it, so he did. He's alright when he's sober…except when he lies. And he does that a lot. 'Oh, I'm not drinking anymore.' At this point, it's like, _yeah, sure you're not_. But now we're lying…kind of anyway. It's not that hard having him gone. It's not hard at all, actually." I tossed my empty cup in a can, and continued, "I'm more at peace now than I was for years when he was at home. I'd camp out at Al's; Uncle Harry's felt more like home than our house." I was kind of surprised I'd told him that, the only people who really knew what had gone on had been around while the while thing was going down, and I'd felt to bruised and raw from it I couldn't help but talk to them.

"The hard part is I can't really trust him, ever." Tears were threatening, and I tried to blink them away. I detested my '_everything's fine_' façade being broken any time, but it bothered me the most in public. I ducked down a side street and blinked faster, my back to Scorpius. I felt him walk up behind me, and I took a set forward. I barely let my Mum see me when I was like this. I might call Dom and talk, but didn't even to that very often, and I hated anyone actually _seeing_ me like this.

"Rose…" his voice was gentle, and I felt his hand settle on my shoulder. I stiffened, but I didn't pull away, and he came around to stand in front of me. Scorpius looked a me for a minute, then pulled me into his chest, rubbing the same circles on my back he'd picked up from watched me with Charlotte.

I gave up trying to stop the tears and sobbed into his shirt, wrapping my arms around his back under his coat.

"You know you don't have to be strong all the time, right?" Scorpius whispered into my hair.

"I do, because if I'm not, then I feel horrible, and people pry even more," I sniffled, and relaxed a bit more into his embrace.

"Well, you don't have to be strong with me,"

"Okay."

"Seriously, a rocking _broom_?" I teased as we bustled into the house two hours later, my tears forgotten.

"Why not?" Scorpius fired back, trying to magic the thing though the door. He couldn't manage to _Leviosa _it and have it turn sideways at the same time.

"I don't know, what's wrong with a nice classic rocking _horse_? Or failing that, a rocking hippogryph maybe?

"But it's cute. Besides, she's going to be a great little Quidditch player." He fired back, finally getting the object in question into the house.

"Yeah, yeah. _Now_, what's in the bag?" I'd been pestering him for the last hour. He'd left Lottie with me right before we left Diagon Ally, claiming to have some last minute, private Christmas shopping to do, and come back with an unmarked canvas bag, bulging out around some sort of square shape. He's refused to tell anyone what was in it, which really wouldn't be that weird, but he had some sort of whispered conversation with Dom right before he left, and when he'd returned Dom had grabbed the bag and run off with it for five minutes, coming back grinning and obnoxiously closed-lip about the contents.

After waiting ten whole minutes for him to volunteer the information, my curiosity had gotten the better of me, and I'd asked who it was for. He wouldn't tell me. He also wouldn't tell me what it was, where he'd gone, and refused to give me a hint.

Now he smirked at me on his way up the stairs. "You'll find out tomorrow!"


	7. Suprises

**Rose POV**

Through my sleep induced haze the next morning, I vaguely registered a voice calling "Knock-knock," softly though my door. I rolled over and tried to ignore the noise, hoping for a few more minutes of sleep before my alarm went off. But then I felt a package drop onto my bed so I steeled myself to give up and accept that I wasn't going to be getting anymore sleep. Just as I was about to open my eyes, however, a large, slightly rough hand brushed across my cheek, tucking an errant bit of hair behind my ear. I knew it was Scorpius, and I couldn't resist seeing what would happen if I feigned sleep a few moments longer.

"Rose," he said softly, brushing his knuckles over my cheek, while I tried to smother the grin I always annoyingly got when I was trying to fool someone. He stopped part-way down my cheek, though, and repeated my name, this time in a warning tone, "_Rose_…?"

"Humm…wha…" I said, going for _you-just-woke-me-out-of-a-deep-sleep_, forcing myself to blearily blink my eyes at him; however whatever affect I did manage to pull off was quickly ruined by my grin.

"You were faking," he said accusatorily, his voice deepening and a bit of a blush staining his cheeks red.

"May_beh_…" I hedged, and then smirked. "What's up?"

"Figured I'd woken you up plenty of times with a screaming baby, thought it'd be a nice change to do it with something pleasant."

"Oh," I said, pulling myself up in bed and flicking my wand, opening the curtains and bathing my blue and white room in bright December sunlight.

"So…" Scorpius said, picking up the box sitting on the end of my bed, "Happy Christmas."

"I _would_ say 'shouldn't I wait until we're at Nana's?', but I don't really _want_to wait, so…" and with that I tore into the silver and white snowflake paper. I got down to a brown cardboard box, about 45 centimetres square, and I slipped my fingers under the flaps on the end, preparing to pop the top open, when a tiny noise came from inside. I startled, and Scorpius smirked from his vantage point sitting cross-legged a bit up from the end of my bed. I stuck my tongue out at him and pulled, and the flaps popped open to reveal one of the ragdoll kittens from the store the day before. I looked up at Scorpius in surprise.

"You seemed to really like them, and Dom said you'd probably be wishing you'd gotten one by tonight, so I should 'go get one already,'" he quoted, mimicking Dom perfectly.

"Well, Dom was wrong," I said, and he stared at me in growing alarm. "I was wishing I'd gotten one _last_night," I finished, almost giggling at how relieved he looked. The kitten mewed, gazing up at me with its milky blue eyes from the bottom of the box. I lifted it from the bath towel nest and tucked it against my flannel-pyjama clad chest, scratching it behind its tiny ear.

"It's a boy," Scorpius told me.

"My favourite!" I was happily surprised. We'd only ever had boys, and they always seemed to want more attention and be more snuggly than my friend's female cats.

"I know," Scorpius looked pretty pleased with himself, and I threw him a questioning look. "Dom said I'd 'better get a boy,' or something like that," he explained.

I smirked. "That sounds like Dom."

Charlotte started screaming at that moment, and Scorpius went to go get her, returning after a minute with the little girl, snuggled in 'Christmas' red and green flannel footie PJs. He settled back on the bed, and sat Lottie on his lap so she could see the kitten. She took one look and him and started leaning forward, stretching her arms and opening and closing her chubby little fists.

"Got any ideas for names?" Scorpius asked as he pulled his niece back a bit from the small animal who was peering out at the latest addition to our group with apparent curiosity.

"Well, I'd better come up with a name before we get to Nana's, or someone else'll do it for me," I laughed, and eyed the kitten speculatively. "I'm thinking Aiden,"

"That's a cool name. Really different from Henry," He said, eyeing Aiden as Lottie bounced up and down, still reaching for Aiden and I. I set him down on the comforter and reached for Charlotte, who came happily. Once I sat her down in my lap, though, Scorpius burst out laughing.  
>"What's so funny?" I asked, confused, as Aiden padded over to Scorpius and sniffed his knee experimentally.<p>

"Lottie…she's…" was all he got out before he doubled over, clutching his stomach and laughing harder than I'd ever seen him before. Aiden startled and ran over to Lottie and I, scrambling into my lap with her. I reached down to move him, but he was already snuggled up by Lottie, who was patting his back contentedly.

"Once you got Charlotte," Scorpius started explaining, "she took one look around and got this huge wrinkle between her eyes, like 'where's the cat?'".

I started laughing too then, and Scorpius joined in. Lottie started bouncing in my lap, and I leaned over to find her grinning and Aiden purring.

I was suddenly struck by how this moment felt like complete happiness, how right it felt to be sitting here, having this moment with these people.

And how much we felt like our own little family.

The rest of Christmas day pasted in a blur. Victoire and Teddy, after having been married for five years, announced that they were expecting a baby in May, and Tori had been appropriately smothered in hugs, kisses…and advice. "It's never too early to start spanking," was Dom and my personal favourite. _Really_, Aunt Aubrey, _really_? Dom and Al pulled off their big prank with Fred and James providing assistance and, unfortunately, extra expertise. Everyone's presents were switched, once they were wrapped, so the gift-giving that normally took about two hours with everyone was doubled to four, as the whole family tried to sort out what gift was actually intended for whom. Not content to stop there, however, they'd swapped out the contents of the Wizard Crackers for honey with a semi-permanent sticking charm on it (something James and Fred had come up with after ruining some expensive china when they were twelve with a permanent sticking charm and moustache stickers and spending the rest of the summer grounded from Quidditch).

I have such a charming, refined family. No really, I _do_. Somewhere, I'm sure; just not _here_.

"What do you think Lottie, you want to go make some cookies?" I asked her as I did up the final snap on her footie sleeper. She'd been practically living in the things after it got cold and we realized it was easier than trying to keep tiny baby socks on her. She gurgled happily, and I tickled her tummy, grinning back at her when she kicked her legs and smiled at me.

I picked her up and carried her downstairs, bringing along her pacifier and her favourite teething ring. Mum and Hugo were at St. Mungo's for a once-yearly Healer visit, and since Mum had mentioned doing some shopping on the way home, we'd probably have the house to ourselves for the better part of the day, making it the perfect time to make some chocolate chip cookies for the bonfire tonight with Lottie.

Once Charlotte was settled in her highchair and I had a yellow polka-dot apron firmly in place, I started pulling containers of ingredients, mixing bowls and measuring cups out, keeping up a constant stream of almost one-sided conversation with her, as she cooed and gurgled back. I heard Scorpius pound down the stairs when I was almost finished mixing, and then felt him come into the room, but he didn't say anything. I waited a couple of minutes, methodically dropping cookie dough on a sheet, and then turned around when I finished the tray.

"How long are you planning on watching me?" I asked, walking up to him.

"I don't know," He answered, casually pushing away from the door frame he'd been leaning against and walking towards me.

"You are impossible," I told him, clapping my hand onto his shoulders and attempting to shake him, not that I got very far since he was so much bigger than me, all the while keeping an arms length of distance between us. He looked too good in a fitted white tee shirt and dark jeans, and ever since that day in Diagon Ally I'd been letting my guard down more and more around him, and I needed to be careful. If he just wanted to be friends, I didn't want my heart broken.

"I know," He fired back, smirking at me smugly and stepping forward, closing the gap. I stepped back, and he smoothly advanced again, putting his hands on my hips as I started to back up. There was something warm I hadn't seen before glittering in his eyes and a nights worth of dark blond, almost brown stubble dusting his cheeks, making him look older and almost rouge-ish. This time when I moved backwards I stumbled and only got half a step before I hit the corner of door frame. _Ouch_. I looked up at him in surprise, _when had we switched places?_, and found him staring down at me intensely. My hands moved to the base of his neck, seemingly of their own accord, skimming over the ends of his hair curling there, and he leaned one breath closer to me.

Then he slowly pulled back.

_What the…_

"So, what're you making?" He asked after a beat, taking his hands off me and walking over to the counter to investigate like everything was perfectly normal and he hadn't just been smoldering his eyes at me. At least his voice was a little rougher than normal. I was pretty sure my heart was going at twice its regular rate, and it wouldn't exactly be fair for him to be _totally_unaffected, right?

"Choc-" I broke off when my voice came out a squeak. I cleared my throat and tried again, "Chocolate chip cookies. Want to sprinkle them?"

"Sprinkle?" He asked, confusion lining his forehead.

"You don't know what sprinkles are?" I asked, surprised.

"No."

"Okay…. They're little candies you put on top of the cookies before you bake them," I explained.

"Oh. Yeah, sure, I'll sprinkle." He smiled at me, and I pointed at the chair by Lottie's highchair, turning around to get the try and compose myself with my back to him. I set the tray on the table along with sprinkle bottle.

"Just shake a few onto each dough ball." I instructed and went back to dropping the dough onto another cookie sheet. We worked in silence for about ten minutes, and then Scorpius broke the silence.

"Twenty questions?" he asked.

That sounded a little steep. "How about ten?" I tried.

"Okay." He thought for a minute, then asked "Favourite colour?"

I thought for a minute, cocking my head, and then answered honestly, "I'm not sure. It changes every month, it seems like. I was obsessed with blue when school started this year, which is probably why my room at school is blue. Of course, I've always liked blue. And purple. And green. I boycotted pink for almost a year when I was fourteen or fifteen, I thought it was too frilly, too princess-y and little girl. Then I loved it again. Right now I'm all about yellow," I waved my lemon coloured fingernails at him. "I love gray all the time, it's so soft and calming. And white, any neutral colour, really. Soft colours, not baby pastels, just soft.

"That was a long answer, sorry." I finished.

"No…it was interesting," he said.

"What's yours?"

"Green, what's your favourite book?"

"Any, or classic, and does that include series?"

"Classics, including series."

"_The Chronicles of Narnia_, by C.S. Lewis. I liked _Voyage of the Dawn Treader_best. You?"

"_Lord of the Rings_, by Tolkien."

"I read _The Hobbit_, that was nice, but the beginning of the first book in the trilogy freaked me out so bad I never actually read any of them." I confessed.

"How old were you?" he asked, amused.

"Er…eleven. It's my turn to go first," I informed him, putting two sprinkled trays of cookies in the oven and giving him a fresh one to work on. "What's your favourite ice cream flavour?"

"Chocolate. Yours?"

"Vanilla bean. Favourite season?"

"Summer," he answered, "yours?

"Spring. No, fall. I like the seasons of change. I love spring best when everything is pale green and fresh and beautiful, and autumn best when the air is getting crisp and the leaves are turning."

"Favourite fairytale princess?"

"Belle, from Beauty and the Beast, because she doesn't just take one look at him, go _he's not hot_and move on. Most of the other princesses fall for the blokes after less than a day, and what do all guys have in common? They're really, really hot. But Belle cares about what's on the inside." I grinned, feeling mischievous, "Who's yours?"

"Who's my what?" he asked

"Who's your favourite princess."

"I'm a bloke, why would I have a favourite princess?"

"I don't know. Do you?"

"Yeah, Sleeping beauty."

"Why?" I wanted to know, but he shook his head at me and mimed locking his lips. The timed dinged and I took the first batch out of the oven, sliding the second, and last, set of trays in just before Charlotte started screaming.

"I'm gonna go put her down," Scorpius said, scooping her up and walking out of the kitchen while I piled dishes in the sink and charmed the dish rag. By the time Scorpius came back down the dishes had washed themselves, I had the first round of cookies cooling on racks and the second were hanging out on the counter waiting for their turn on the racks.

"Want to go outside?" Scorpius asked, waving the baby monitor in his hand.

"Yeah, sure," I said, pulling off the apron and yanking my fleece boots off. We snagged a few warm cookies, and headed down to the beach. I plopped down on the sand and dug my toes in, as Scorpius settled in next to me, close enough that I could feel his shoulder press against mine.

I'd been so sure he was going to kiss me, and then he'd pulled away, but now here he was sitting incredibly close to me and doing strange things to my stomach. I sighed, sticking my arms out behind me and bracing myself on them. Scorpius did the same, stretching his left arm out so it was hovering a few inches behind my back, further exciting the butterflies that seemed to have moved permanently into my stomach.

"So, about number six…what's your greatest fear?" he asked, looking down at me.

I gazed out at the ocean, watching the waves come in and go back out, constant, the tides always coming and going in a consistent cycle. It was natural and powerful and raw, but still something that could be predicted, counted on. The tide comes in, it goes out. "Trusting someone, letting someone into my heart and having them break it. Break my trust, break my heart…" I trailed off, bowing my heard over my lap.

"Like your dad did," Scorpius said quietly, not asking but rather making a statement.

I nodded silently.

"Any guy would be an idiot to hurt you. He'd have to be completely mental to not treasure you if he somehow managed to get you," he told me. I thought I heard him mutter "_I'd_take care of you," but the wind whipped the whispered words away before I could be sure.

"What about you? What's your greatest fear?" I asked.

He swallowed hard before answering, "That I'll end up like my father."

"I don't know about your father, but I think you're a really good guy," I told him. He smiled sadly down at me.

"So, number seven," he said after a couple of minutes.

The next evening was the annual Weasley Beach Bonfire that Teddy and Victoire had started when they were thirteen and fourteen. All the Weasley kids who were Hogwarts age went, and most dragged along a couple of friends. It was our last hurrah before the Delacour -Weasley's went to France for New Years. Mum had offered to keep Charlotte, and I had bundled myself into black Sherpa-lined boots, my favourite thigh-length black pea coat and a sapphire knit beanie.

The night passed in a blur-We stood around roasting hot dogs, marshmallows, and, in a particularly original and disturbing turn, chocolate frogs (James and Fred's idea, which every boy there loved.) for a while, then someone magicked several folding camping chairs down, and there was a mad dash to get to one before they were all taken. Hugo jumped in front of me, so I got Scorpius to scoot over and shared a chair with him. It was nice to spend time with my family and our friends, and an interesting change to be around Scorpius without Charlotte. At one point we were talking to James about classes and something brushed my arm. I looked down to find Scorpius brushing soot or a bug or something (the boys couldn't quite agree what it was) off my arm. It was weird, and I thought it was oddly intimate, but ended up feeling like it was a good weird, not a bad weird.

We lasted until about midnight; the fire was reduced to feebly flickering and glowing embers by the time we all packed up and headed home, exhausted but happy.

New Years Eve, and Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny's annual NYE party along with it arrived in seemingly the blink of an eye. Dom had helped me pick out a dress, since this was a semi-formal party involving not only family but friends and people from the adult's workplaces, before she left for France with her family. It was a soft gray, maxi kimono, with a panel of really pale gray lace across the neckline. It was simple and soft and beautiful, and I felt so pretty in it. We'd found a cropped black leather jacket that looked perfect with it to keep me warm, and I finished it off with long, yellow crystal drop earrings, smoky brown eyes and loose curls. I walked out of my room and into the spare bedroom Lottie had been in to get her dressed. While going through the clothes Aphrodite had already bought for Lottie, which were quickly running out as she grew ever bigger, I'd run into a long sleeved knit dress with a vintage flower pattern splashed across it, and it was perfect for tonight since it was so soft and would be easy for her to sleep in.

Once she was dressed I walked down the stairs with her, and ran right into Scorpius, who was barrelling up the steps.

"I was just coming to loo-" he cut off mid-sentence, his eyes widening. "You look amazing…"

I could feel my cheeks heat up with a blush. _Err…_ "Thanks," _I think_. That's a good thing, right? Right. He looked really good too; he'd gotten his hair cut the day before, so it was just skimming the collar of his black dress shirt. He had a matching tie and almost-black jeans. I was contemplating whether or not I should tell him so when Mum stepped into the foyer. "You guys about ready to go?" she wanted to know.

I nodded, and Scorpius said, "Yup," holding up the nappy bag. I bundled Lottie into a bunting coat to keep her legs warm and we Disapparated onto Uncle Harry's driveway.

Lily came running out, hugging me like we hadn't just seen each other mere days before. We all walked into the house, Lily keeping her arm around my waist, Scorpius walking so close our shoulders seemed to have a permanent sticking charm on them.

I smiled, genuinely happy as we walked in and I pulled off my coat and Lottie's while Scorpius held her. Aunt Ginny and Al walked up, and Aunt Ginny gave me a firm hug before slipping over to Mum.

"Hermione, there's something I need to tell you about," she said. Lottie waved her hands cheerfully and a group of women formed around her and Scorpius. I was caught in the middle of the flurry when I looked up and saw my dad, talking to some Ministry official and watching me. I tuned back into my mother and aunt's conversation just in time to hear, "…so sorry, he just showed up five minutes ago,"

The room started to spin, and it suddenly felt, too small, too crowded, too busy… I was practically gasping for breath, and I leaned on Scorpius' shoulder, breathing in his scent and taking comfort from his nearness. I closed my eyes, trying to calm down, when I glanced up and saw Dad walking over, determination bright in his eyes.

"I…I've got to go…" I said, and speed-walked over to the stairs, heading straight for Al's room, almost at a run now.

Just before I got to his door I heard my cousins stopping my father. "Uncle Ron," Al said, warning in his voice, "You need to give her some room," James stated, finishing his brother's thought. "Honestly, what did you expect, just showing up?" Teddy asked scathingly.

I opened the door and threw myself onto the bed, crawling up to the top and bringing my knees to my chest. I rested my head on my knee caps and tried to blink back tears. After a couple of minutes I heard my cousins and Scorpius talking, seemingly just outside the door. I had lifted my head and was looking towards the hall when my eyes stuttered over a piece of baseboard by the door. _Oh_. It was the extendable ears that Al had disillusioned the summer before Fifth Year in order to more effectively snoop on what was going on down in the hall. The string went from Al's door out through the hall and down the stairs, ending at the bottom, and if you looked in the right spot it tripped your eyes up a bit.

"She just can't handle it," I heard Al say.

"Can you blame her?" Lily snapped, and then I heard Scorpius' voice, sounding extremely confused, "Why'd he even come?"

"Because that's what he does." Lily informed him tartly.

"Somebody should go see her," James said, "she'll be up the miserable for the rest of the party otherwise…"

"…And we shouldn't let Uncle Ron ruin it for her," Fred finished.

I smiled wobbly at their concern, and crossed my fingers they'd argue about who should go long enough I wouldn't have to put up a brave front for any of them in the next five minutes.

"You go," I heard Lily say decisively. Whoever it was must have made a face, because I heard Teddy state, point-blank, "She needs _you_. Now go…"

"Erm..."

"My room, third door on the right," Al said.

_Who wouldn't know where Al's room was?_

I turned my face away from the door and wondered who it was Teddy thought I needed. I heard footsteps on the stairs, then the door creaked open, then silence.

"_Ehem_," a guy cleared his throat from the edge of them bed, and I lifted my head a fraction of an inch, and turned it slightly and-

"Oh crap." I breathed. Scorpius was standing in a pool of moonlight less than two feet away from me, concern wrinkling his forehead. I scooted over a bit, and he seemed to take that as an invitation, although I hadn't really intended it as one, and settled on the bed in front of me. He put his hand up and brushed my cheek with his thumb, and I quivered, desperately trying to not cry any more.

"Hey," he said.

I sniffed.

"Remember the rule?"

I looked up at him in confusion.

"You can be strong around everyone else if you must, but you don't have to be strong with me." He reminded my gently.

That did it…that, and his thumb, which was still stroking my face tenderly. I burst into full, body-wracking sobs, and Scorpius pulled me closer. I turned my head into his neck, and he scooted up to rest against the headboard, bringing me with him to rest against his chest.

"I got your shirt all wet," I said in a small voice fifteen minutes later, all cried out.

"It's okay. Are you alright?" he asked, continuing to run his hand up and down my back.

"Yeah, I guess," I sighed, putting my head in the crook of his neck.

"What do you want to do now?" he asked. His voice rumbled through my ear where it was pressed against his collarbone and reverberated through my chest.

"I don't know," I muttered. I sighed again, and snuggled my head closer. Scorpius tensed, and I felt my shoulders hunch in. I really didn't get what the deal was, he seemed like he liked me, but then just when things got…interesting, he'd get tense or pull away. I lifted my head and moved to get off his lap, but his arms were vice-like around me. Then he relaxed, but he kept his arms securely around me. I relaxed too, and I breathed out, the tension leaving my body.

Scorpius growled, just a little bit, and my head popped up in surprise. "Did you just _growl_at me?" I asked incredulously.

"Erm, maybe?" he looked sheepish.

"_Why?_"

"What? No reason…" he said, turning his head off to the side.

"Eheh. _Suure_…" I wasn't convinced, but laid my head back down.

Someone knocked on the door, Al poked his head in. "We're setting up a party for just the kids in the game room," Al said, grinning at us, "Just so you know." Here he winked at me, and I jumped off Scorpius' lap as Albus chuckled quietly and retreated from his room.

When I turned to look at Scorpius, he was watching me, with that same look he'd had that day in the kitchen, right before he pulled away.

"Hey Scorpius?" I said tentatively.

"Yeah?" his voice was rough.

"That day in the kitchen…" his eyes widened in alarm, and I trailed off. "Never mind."

"No, what?" he prodded after a minute.

"I was just…wondering…why did you do it?"

"Do what?" he asked, and I leaned forward, burying my head in his neck in embarrassment. "Why did you pull away?" I muttered.

"Why didn't I kiss you?" he asked, cutting to the chase.

"Yeah," I said, trying to put my face even closer to his neck so he couldn't see how red it was.

"Because you looked scared, and I didn't want to rush you. I want you to trust me; I want to be the guy you're sure of, who you never have to doubt. And your mum was out of the house, and I'd backed you against the wall and you were giving me the most heart-rending look…I just couldn't."

I opened my mouth to answer, but before I could, Molly burst in, "Rose, everyone's in the game room, _come on_!" she said, then had the nerve to stand there in the doorway, arms crossed, tapping her foot.

I sighed and got up, as we passed Molly in the doorway she leaned forward and hissed in my ear, "What were you thinking, alone with a boy, and-" she abruptly stopped when I cleared whispering distance, consoling herself by walking behind us and clucking. We turned several corners, heading down the backstairs to avoid the adults' party.

The mood in the game room was the complete opposite of the party we'd left behind upstairs. In the last thirty minutes my cousins had managed to clear all the furniture, leaving nothing but a liberal sprinkling of floor cushions and coffee tables laden with snacks, placed and lit hundreds of candles, and…

_Draped the entire ceiling so it looked like a tent?_ Geez, they'd been busy. This was over-the-top, even for little-miss-social-butterfly and party-planner extraordinaire (otherwise known as Lily). Almost like she heard me thinking about her, Lily walked into the room, cuddling Lottie close. Charlotte looked perfectly happy, until she caught sight of me. She immediately leaned towards me, holding her arms out. Lily smiled and passed her to me, and she snuggled close, stretching one arm out to grasp Scorpius' shirt. "You look like a family," Lily whispered with a smile and a one-armed hug on her way past, before she ramped up her volume and hollered at Ashleigh Wood to "quit trying to recruit people to play Quidditch, its bloody _freezing_outside!" I laughed, and settled into a quiet corner with Scorpius and Lottie. Al came over with the Clue board, bringing James and Fred with him, and soon we were counting down to the New Year, then bundling up and heading home.

I realized as we climbed the stairs and got our coats on that I'd completely forgotten that Dad had crashed the party. I peered around, but he was nowhere to be seen. Uncle Harry walked up and put an arm around my shoulders. "We made sure he left before you guys came up. I'm sorry about that, we had no idea he was going to show up like that,"  
>"It's okay Uncle Harry; it's not your fault." I said, cuddling closer to the man I thought of as my surrogate father.<p>

"We would have kicked him out if it had been only family, but with everybody from work…" he trailed off, looking pained.

"I know. We had fun. And we even got Lottie to sleep, so that's a plus." I said, gesturing with my chin to the small pink bundle resting on my chest.

"We'll see you soon," Uncle Harry said, giving my shoulder one last squeeze before walking back towards where the heart of the party had been, waving his wand at the mess.

I slept fitfully the whole night, and the next morning I woke up sick. My head was pounding, the light streaming in my windows stabbing at my eyes after Mum opened them and my stomach felt like someone had dropped an acid bomb in it. It was after twelve when I finally dragged out of my room in yoga pants, my softest tee-shirt and an over-sized sweater coat. I didn't see Scorpius or Hugh until I'd sat down at the kitchen table with a slice of toast topped with butter and grape jelly and saw them hovering around on brooms outside the windows. Mum walked in and saw me looking out the windows, "They went out about two hours ago, and Scorpius has been going through manoeuvres with him ever since," She explained with a smile. I quirked my lips up faintly, finished my toast and picked up Lottie, who had been stretching her hands towards me since she'd come into the kitchen in Mum's arms. I walked into the living room with her and lay down on the couch, pulling a blanket off the back of the sofa over us and switching on the telly.

Scorpius came in after half an hour and I heard him talking to Mum in the foyer.

"This is what happens when she gets too stressed out. She tries to get everyone to believe she's caught a cold or gotten overly tired, but it's the stress." Mum confided. I heard Scorpius murmur something back, but couldn't hear what it was. I would have popped my head over the back of the couch and glared at Mum, but Charlotte had gone to sleep on my chest, and she looked so peaceful, the idea of waking her up was loathsome.

"She'll be fine; it gets better, less, every time. And you, both of you, are good for her. She's happier with you than I've seen her with anyone outside the family in a long, long time. She's curled up with Lottie now. Go take a shower; she'll still be there when you're clean." Mum finished with a smile in her voice. She was really becoming fond of him.

I must have fallen asleep with Charlotte, because the next thing I knew Scorpius was crouched in front of my face, hair wet, rubbing the back of his hand up and down my arm. I blinked fuzzily at him, "Is there are room for me?" he asked, smiling at my sleepy look.

"Oh, yeah, I don't have to take up the whole sofa," I said, moving to sit up before he stopped me. He plunked down where my head had been and pulled me back down. "So," he said, stretching his arm out along the back of the sofa, "What're we watching?"

"Science channel." I told him, sitting up and pulling a throw pillow from the other end of the sofa closed before sticking it in Scorpius' lap and getting comfortable. After five minutes Scorpius' hand slipped from the back of the sofa to my arm, where he proceeded to draw random patterns. After fifteen minutes I finally screwed up my (incredibly meagre at the moment) courage, and said, "Hey Scorp?"

"Yeah?" he said, looking down at me in surprise. I think he thought I'd gone back to sleep.

"You are that guy. Just so you know,"

"That guy…?" he said, sounding stupefied. Sometimes this whole _no-short-term-memory_ thing is _really_annoying.

"You were talking about it last night…in Al's room…" I said, hoping to jog his memory without having to relieve the entire conversation.

"Oh…that's _good_," he whispered in my ear. Before he sat back up I felt a light pressure on the top of my head…_did he just kiss me?_

Maybe this new-year thing won't be so bad after all…


	8. Almost

**Scorpius POV**

Rose got up and walked in the house, calling, "I'll be right back with Lottie!"

We were out on the beach behind her house, playing ten questions, since she'd shot-down my twenty questions suggestion. She opened the door to the house and slipped inside, and I reflected what I'd done this morning. Or rather, almost done.

_I had barreled down the stairs and followed Rose's happy voice towards the kitchen, but pulled up short when I got there. She had part of her hair pulled back in a clip and a yellow apron on, cooking supplies strewn all across the counter. I'd heard her voice because she was keeping up a constant stream of conversation with Lottie, who was sitting in her highchair watching Rose happily. I leaned against the door frame and watched as she finished stirring something thick in a bow, filled a tray with dough ballsl and pulled out some bottles from the cabinet. _

_Then she turned around and walked over to me, a gleam in her eye. "How long are you planning on watching me?" she demanded._

"_I don't know," I answered, attempting nonchalance and pushing away from the doorframe._

"_You are impossible!" she informed me, trying to look stern, but I could see a smile in her eyes as she put her hands on my shoulders and tried to shake me. Her arms were ridged, and she seemed a little tense. I took a step closer, and she back pedaled._

"_I know," I grinned smugly and advanced again, my hands shooting out and grabbing her hips of their own accord as she tried to retreat again. She stumbled, which put her right in front of the doorframe, and it hit her squarely in the back. Her eyes darted up to mine, and she gave me the saddest, most startled look I'd ever seen. Her hands had slipped to my neck and I wavered for one second, swaying a little closer to her._

_Then I caught myself and pulled back. She'd just finally started trusting me, I wasn't about to break that trust by backing her up against a wall and kissing her, especially while her mum was out of the house and we were alone. The more time we'd spent together the more I liked her, she was plucky and strong and fragile, not that she ever wanted anyone to see that. She got things done, whether she or anyone else wanted them done or not. Every time I saw her with Lottie I caught my breath. She was going to be an amazing mother, a great wife, someday, if she could just let down her guard and trust a guy again after what he dad had done to her. _

_My niece waved her favorite teething ring, and I caught the motion in my peripheral vision, snapping me back to the present. Rose was still staring up at me, looking totally lost and confused. I hated that I'd made her feel that way. I took my hands off her and stepped farther back._

"_So, what're you making?" I asked, walking away from her and over to the counter, hoping the distance would make her feel better._

"Say good morning…again!" Rose called brightly, and I was brought back down to earth by the sight of her walking outside carrying Lottie, preceded by a floating quilt and a folding beach umbrella.

The quilt settled on the beach next to me, it looked big enough to cover a king-sized bed, and I caught the umbrella out of the air, shoving it down in the sand as Rose laid Charlotte down in the middle and settled on her side next to her. She pulled out a small bottle, more of a snack than a meal, and set it on the edge of the blanket. "In case she gets a little hungry," Rose told me with a peaceful smile when she noticed me looking at it questioningly. Lottie was waving her hands and feet, and Rose, resting her head in the elbow, was reaching out and tickling her stomach, and stroking her cheeks, making Charlotte smile.

I found myself grinning as I settled down on the blanket on Lottie's other side. Rose had given of herself so freely to help us, and I knew she loved my niece, even if her feelings for me were (much) more planktonic. Unaware of my own inner musings, Rose continued to play with Lottie. She reached for her tummy, eliciting yet another grin from Lottie. Rose grinned back at her, and I can't help wondering what Aphrodite and Kevin would say if they could see us. Aphrodite would probably be happy that we're doing so well, muddling through it. She would probably be comforted that I had help. And they'd both probably tell me to not let Rose slip through my fingers. I can hear Kev now, "How many Roses do you think there are in this world? Get a move on dude." And Aphrodite…she'd probably just sit there and shake her head at me, waiting for me to figure it out. I shake my head, looking out at the horizon.

Rose let out a peal of happy laughter and I turned from my inspection of the distant waves to look at the two women in my life. They're both grinning up at me, and I smile back at them. _We feel like a family…_

That's what I kept coming back to. That when we were together, it felt like puzzle pieces snapping into place…we are becoming our own new little family.

And everything was going to turn out okay.

look in her eyes. I'd backed her up against the door frame, and somehow my hands had landed on her hips


	9. Ticklish

** Rose POV**

The next day we went back to Hogwarts, me just starting to come out of my father induced funk, Scorpius oddly attentive, Lottie just plain happy.

The train ride was fairly event-free, not counting Louis managing to lose his owl…honestly, how that boy managed to let the door pop open in the two minutes between getting on the train and us closing the compartment door, I have no clue. But he did, and there went Adonis, fluttering madly down the corridor.

"Soooo…" Dom said, sitting down next to me half way through the Welcome Back feast that night, waggling her eyebrows and scotching me over with her slim hip, not that she needed the room. I bumped into Scorpius, her intent all along, I'm sure, but he didn't even look up from his plate as he shoveled another fork full of food into his mouth.

"Dom!" I hissed, but she merely smiled demurely and lifted the basket of rolls over the large gravy boat in the middle of the table and poked through them, shooting me coy looks out of the corner of her eye. I should have known when neither Lily nor Dom showed up in the carriage Al, Scorpius, Louis and I were ridding in that sweet little Lily was debriefing Dom on the events that she'd missed while in France, but honestly, in the middle of dinner she had to do this?

"_C'est grand, très grand. Il vous aime_!" She exclaimed in rapid-fire French before taking a bite out of her freshly buttered roll. I was just about to open my mouth to tell her _thank you very much, I know it's big, very big, and _duh_, I'd been there, I know he likes me_…at least, I think I know he likes me. I mean I think he likes me…what do I mean again? While I was having this incredibly stimulating conversation with myself, Dom, having finished chewing, continued her helpful (Not._ Non. Nein._) advice with "_Faites-lui confiance_ ..."

I stared at her blankly for a few seconds before eating the last spoonful of my dessert and rising in my seat to leave the table, sliding one knee onto the bench. Dom's hand whipped out and she snatched hold of my arm before I could raise myself more than eight centimetres, dragging me back down. She tossed her shiny blonde hair over one shoulder and leaned towards me, brushed my curls away from my ear and repeated herself in English, "Trust him." I sighed. I'd heard her the first time, I just didn't want to deal with her words, or how true they rang. She knew that while I might like him, could even fall in love with him, there was always a backup plan, a voice in the back of my mind that never quite shut up whispering _He'll never stay forever, he'll lie to you, he'll hurt you…he'll end up _just like your dad. I shut my eyes, but Dom shook my shoulder until they snapped back open. "He's not Uncle Ron," Dom whispered, blue eyes serious and boring into my ever-changing green ones. "No guy is. Yeah, some may be a lot like him, but between Al, Aunt Hermione and me, I don't think you need to worry too much about them. Besides, if this works out as well as I think it will," here she stopped for a breath and a knowing smirk before continuing, "You don't need to worry about any other guys."

"_Humpf_." I raised an eyebrow at her and was trying to think up a clever retort when Scorpius leaned over and started nodding along, a carefully crafted sober look on his face. I freaked out for a minute, before I noticed his cerulean eyes twinkling, giving his bluff away. "Oh, quit it!" I said with a sigh and shoved his shoulder. "I'm going to go up," he told me, pulling back and smiling. I, having still not come up with a satisfactory come-back for Dom and her smirk, knew a gift hippogriff when I saw one, and wasn't about to look it in the mouth. "Okay. I'm done, I'll walk up with you," I said quickly, hopping up and heading for the doors at what was dangerously close to a speed-walk, but I couldn't resist turning around and sticking my tongue out at Dom when I reached the heavy doors, before flopping against them on the other side. Scorpius was watching me with a curious look on his face, although Lottie was oblivious, cheerfully bouncing (rather violently I might add) in her uncle's arms.

"What was that about?" Scorpius finally asked, laughter lurking just behind his words. I growled in the back of my throat, taking Charlotte as I passed him, who immediately stopped wriggling and snuggled in, head tucked on my shoulder.

"Dom was…being Dom. She thinks she's the family advice-Seer."

"U_huh_," He didn't sound convinced as he slipped my bag off my shoulder and onto his own and we approached the second set of stairs.

"She…doesn't want me to…live in the past." I said slowly.

"What's wrong with her wanting that?" he asked.

I sighed. "As long as I'm in the past, I can't get any fresh wounds." I confessed quietly.

"But maybe you'll find something to heal your scars…in the present." He suggested, melancholy written in the lines around his mouth and eyes, causing his forehead to knit up.

"Maybe," I sighed as we reached our portrait-hole and Charlotte yawned.

"I'm going to go see if she'll go to sleep," Scorpius said, taking the drowsy baby from me. "Rose…"

"Yeah?" I said, turning towards him. He sighed and ran his free hand through his hair, then sighed again. "Never mind; here's your bag." I took it and he walked slowly over to the nursery door while I headed for my room, wondering what he'd been about to say.

"She's down," Scorpius said, poking his head into my room while I was unpacking. "'Kay," I said over a pile of clothes topped by a stack of new books, which were starting to wobble. "Can you…" I started, then trailed off as the heap in my arm started to arch precariously towards the floor. Scorpius shot forward from his place in the doorway and snatched the books out of my arms before they finished their mad dash for the floorboards. "Thanks," I breathed gratefully.

"Where do you want them?" he asked as I walked over to the wardrobe and started putting my freshly washed clothes away. "Erm…" I said, sizing up the bookshelves, "That shelf over there by my bed please."

"How's that?" he asked, after he'd managed to find spots for all of them. "Good, thanks." I said smiling as I walked over to the bed to pull some more stuff out of my duffel bag. Except I still felt sort of sick and out of it, and that had left me a little shaky, so when my foot hit the magazine that had fallen out of my bag earlier, I went flying…straight into Scorpius' chest. He caught me, and I let out a little squeak as I crashed into his Quidditch-hardened abs, while he tightened his arms around my waist, hauling me up. Thirty seconds later my hands were still splayed across his chest, and while I realized that moving them is _probably_ (okay, so, more like a big fat yes I need to) something I should be doing, I didn't really want to…

He moved one of his hands and I started to lean back, figuring I'd used up my allotted time to 'recover' from almost falling (when in reality, I'd need to recover from being so close to him _way_ more than from my almost-fall), but he wasn't letting me go. I started get suspicious when he ghosted his hands around from my back to my stomach. I popped my head up, and he grinned mischievously down at me. I _eep_ed, and backed up, unfortunately, the backs of my knees hit the bed and I want sprawling backwards. Scorpius advanced slowly, his grin gradually beginning to look slightly evil. He wiggled his hands above me before they landed on my stomach and he started tickling me.

"Hahahaha, get off!" I hollered. Aiden, who had been sleeping in a ball on my head pillow popped an eye open and _meowed_ at us imperiously before stretching and sauntering off the bed. "There is no way I'm letting you go!" Scorpius informed me smugly…at least until I suddenly bounced up and ran for the door. Scorpius tore after me, and I made it almost to the sofa in the common room before his arm came around my waist and yanked me against him. I pulled against him, the same muscles from Quidditch I'd been admired minutes before holding me securely locked in place. "Lemme go!" I begged, not meaning a word of it while he laughed at me. He plunked into his favorite chair and pulled me down with him.

"_Humpf_, if you're not going to let me go, at least let me go get a book," I complained after a few minutes.

"Uh uh…"

"Scorp…" I said, trying to sound dangerously miffed, stiffening in his arms for effect.

"Fine, go get a book," he conceded. I could practically _feel_ him rolling his eyes at me. By the time I got back with one of my new books and a blanket he'd found a book too, not that he wanted me to think he'd left the chair for a second, as he was sitting there, pretending to be immersed in reading but tapping his fingers on the arm. I sat down, resting my back against one armrest and tossing my legs over the other. I laid my head down on his chest and settled in to read.

The next thing I knew I was being gently set down somewhere soft, and a blanket was being pulled over me. Someone brushed their hand over my cheek before walking to the door. As I blearily opened my eyes, I noticed that dream-boy looked just like my Co-Head. I mumbled "Scorp…", but the figure in the doorframe didn't seem to hear as he pulled the door shut.

The next week passed, and I slowly started to feel more like myself again, although for the first part of the week my nights were spent tossing and turning, rolling over every few hours as I dreamed of my dad hurting me and of Scorpius discontinuously either holding me close or pushing me away. By Saturday the dreams had left, returning to my normal, randomly nonsensical nighttime imaginings, and I was on my second new Christmas book. I was just starting chapter seven Saturday night, curled up in front of the fireplace in a huge, cowl-necked sweater, Lottie curled in my lap shaking a rattle, when Scorpius walked through the portrait hole, wet and muddy from practice.

I glanced up at the sound, then back down at my book as he entered the room. The dreams may have stopped after Wednesday, but they had multiplied the doubts that were always living in my brain, and I couldn't help feeling uncertain around him. Even while he smirked at me during class when I raise my hand (again), with the right answer, (again), and I felt the flush of warm pleasure seeping through me at his fond gaze, I still felt stupid and scared.

"Hey," he said, and I heard him dropping the remainder of his Quidditch gear on the mat by the door, and I (tried to) concentrate on my book. Charlotte, however, had other ideas, and started bouncing up and down in my lap the second she heard her uncles' voice. I laid my book face down on the couch and twisted in my seat, picking Lottie up and standing her on my lap so she could see Scorpius over the back of the couch. She grinned and gurgled as he walked over and reached his arms out to pick her up.

"Oh no you don't," I said, perhaps a bit more sharply than I should have. "Have you seen yourself? You'll get her all muddy!"

"Oh," Scorpius said, seeming to notice how he looked for the first time. "I'll just…go shower, then." he said, looking a little startled at my tone, not that I could blame him, I was entirely too moody and snarky this week, but I couldn't seem to stop. He kissed Lottie on the head and walked over to his door. I studiously stared at Lottie, who was watching after her uncle. When I finally gave in and looked over after almost a full minute, his door was just shutting.

"You want me to take her?" Scorpius asked, coming out in blue jeans and a sweater thirty minutes later. After a quick glance down at the little girl sleeping in my arms I shook my head. "Unless you want her," I amended. I couldn't let myself forget that she wasn't really mine, and after the end of the year, I might never see her again. I sighed deeply at the thought of being alone after spending almost a full year with the two Malfoys. Of course, I wouldn't really be _all_ alone, I'd always planned on staying with Mum, provided Dad wasn't around, after I finished school, but Lottie and her uncle had grown on me. I glanced up at Scorpius to find him shaking his head. "I just didn't want her to keep you from doing anything, I wasn't sure if you had other things to do." He said cautiously. "No, besides, she's good for me." I said, running my fingers along her arm. He nodded and settled into one of the desks with a plethora of studying and paper-writing supplies.

I put Lottie to bed after fifteen minutes, about the time I realized all I was doing was holding her and watching Scorpius work. After I laid her down in her crib I drifted out, feeling listless as I headed for the kitchenette to get some cold peppermint tea for my stomach.

"Rose, what's wrong?" Scorpius asked, coming up behind me.

"Nothing," I fibbed, bringing my glass to my lips and sucking down half the contents before looking up again.

"_Really_ Rose, really?" he said, raising an eyebrow at me in disbelief. I sighed and tried to brush past, giving him a vague "I'm just tired, that's all."

His hand darted out and captured my elbow. I gave a little squeak of astonishment and set my glass on the counter as he reeled me back in, looking as serious as I'd ever seen him. I stared at him in surprise and he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed before speaking. "You do know…I'm all in…right? This isn't just some casual thing for me. I care about you, and I'll do everything humanly possible to avoid hurting you. I don't want you to be…scared."

I gazed at him in shock, my mouth forming a little 'o' of surprise. He studied me for a moment before running a hand through his quickly drying hair and releasing my elbow. He slowly backed away and then turned around and headed back towards the desk, shoulders hunched in.

"Scorp…" I whispered. I wasn't sure if he'd heard me, or if I wanted for him to, or if…but then he stopped and turned, looking at me, and his face softened from the hard lines it had taken on when I said nothing.

"What's wrong?" he asked, coming to stand in front of me again, cupping my cheek in his hand.

"I'm…" I trailed off, feeling small and humiliated. I stepped closer to him, and laid my head on his chest. He wrapped his arms tightly around me, and I relaxed. He was good, and sweet and kind, and loving…he wasn't lying, he wouldn't hurt me. Dom was right, I needed to remember not everyone was my Dad, and not everyone was going to hurt me the way he had. "I'm…I _was_…scared." I confessed into his sweater.

"You _were_?" Scorpius said, clarifying, "But not anymore?"

"No…well, maybe a little," I confessed.

"So am I. you could just as easily break my heart, you know." He said, dead serious.

"But I would never…!" I exclaimed, popping my head up in alarm that he'd even thought of that.

"And _I_ would never." He shot back, his eyes promising me safety.

"I know…now." I assured him, stepping out of his embrace and returning to the couch with my tea. I had just set it down when he sat down next to me and pulled me towards him. . "Rose," he murmured, and I swayed closer to him, and all I could think was _please don't change your mind this time, please don't cha-_

"Are you sure about this?" Scorpius asked, interrupting my little inner chant. In answer I brought a hand up and slipped it around his neck, pulling his face down to mine. He grinned at me, then pressed his lips against mine, slowly testing the waters. I pressed closer to him, and he leaned farther into the back of the couch, pulling me with him. I slid my right hand up into his hair, while my left hand fisted into his shirt as he started kissing me harder. I whimpered softly, and Scorpius pulled back, breathing hard. I felt dizzy and ridiculously lighted-headed, so I let me head fall onto his shoulder. "Are you…" Scorpius tried, his voice coming out scratchy and husky, "…was that-" I cut him off "Mmm…you're fine. Better than fine…" I grinned into his neck and continued playing with his blonde hair as he leaned down and nuzzled my neck.

I couldn't help it, I really couldn't…I _giggled_. It wasn't my fault, something about how his nose was lightly brushing my neck just tickled. "My first kiss," I mumbled, sighing in contentment. He starting peppering little kisses along my neck and I swear I could feel him grinning against my collar bone.


	10. Falling

**Scorpius POV**

Rose's breathing started to settle into a slow, even pattern and she melted even closer into my body in her sleep. I smiled and dropped my book onto the floor by the chair before easing the thick volume, which she'd been engrossed in before dropping off to sleep, out of her hands and setting it onto of my own. Rose shifted slightly, one delicate hand fisting in my shirt, the other tucked under her chin, I groaned quietly as she murmured in her sleep before curling closer still.

"All right Rosie, time for you to go to bed," I whispered as I slowly got up and carried her unhurriedly to her room, using everything she'd ever taught me about keeping Charlotte asleep on her. I set her on her bed and pulled back, but her hand was still clutching my shirt. I cursed quietly, and eased her hand open. She stirred in her sleep as I pulled the knit blanket she'd brought out with her earlier up to her neck before brushing my knuckles over her cheek and backing slowly towards the door. She opened her eyes just a crack as I got to the door and I swore I heard her whisper "Scorp…" before I shut the door behind myself. I wondered if she'd remember in the morning as I walked into my room. I wasn't likely to forget the feel of her, completely relaxed, _in my arms_, any time soon, that much I was sure of. She needed to relax more often I thought, as I ran my tooth brush around in my mouth. Her Dad had really messed her up, not that she ever really talked about it; after that day in Diagon Ally she seemed even more reserved around me than usual, although she never turned down my touch, seeming to reluctantly draw comfort from the contact.

I sighed and shut the light off, wishing I could turn thoughts of Rose off just as easily.

While Rose seemed to be calming down, she looked more and more tired every morning, and starting to seemingly avoid me. Sure, she was still _around_ me, just she seemed to shut down, drawn into herself when she knew I was there.

We were in class Thursday when Professor Flickwick (how is he still teaching? That's what I'd like to know.) asked the class at large to volunteer the answer to the Charms question he'd just posed. Rose's hand shot up in the air, and, of course, she had the right answer. I smirked over at her, thinking that was so typically Rose, and watched the colour rise in her cheeks. That, of course, only made me smirk more, but she quickly looked away and I couldn't help feeling a bit deflated at how introverted she had become in my presence.

After ten minutes Flickwick asked another question, and, without pausing for breath it seemed like, called out "Yes, Miss Weasley?" Now, that would be funny enough, but the wizard had his back to the class the whole time. Rose, not seeming to notice, merely spouted the correct answer and dropped her hand before going back to taking copious notes on the lecture. I couldn't help shooting her a fond look as she scribbled furiously, but just as I glanced over at her across the empty desk between us she stopped writing, and I could see her peeping out of the corner of her eye in me.

That night I came back from practice later than normal and completely exhausted, but I still endeavored to be as quiet as possible, since I figured at this hour Rose probably had Lottie asleep. I set down my Quidditch gear and tip-toed over to the nursery door. It was pulled halfway closed, and the lights were all out, save for the nightlight Rose kept on all night to avoid stubbed toes and the two of us trying to put the dummy in her arm pit instead of her mouth-Rose's exact words, four months ago.

I could just see Rose in the soft light, rocking Charlotte. As my eyes got used to the dim light, I watched her snuggle her face into Lottie's neck, then pull back and place a kiss on her head before leaning head against the back of the chair and uttering a huge sigh.

She was beautiful, all the time, but even more so when she was dashing around with six kilograms of books weighing down her bag, or holding my niece, absentmindedly stroking her arm or kissing her while she spoke or read. It's the kind of settled, mature loveliness that most of the girls at Hogwarts didn't even know existed yet, the grace that you just knew would still be there, unchanged, when she was eighty.

Rose stirred, then carefully got up and walked over to the crib, and I suddenly realized that I'd been standing in the doorway, just watching her, for the last five minutes, and I should probably move before she walked out and found me there. And yet…I didn't want to leave.

"There, there. _Shush, shush_…go back to sleep baby girl, everything is fine."

I smiled wistfully. What would we do without her? And what would become of my sanity at the end of the year?

"I'll see you in the morning darling. I love you." Rose started backing away from the crib and I scrambled away from the door and into my room at breakneck speed. She was incredible, and scared, because of her father's betrayal. And I was falling for her, hard. Falling in love with her faster, and more completely, than I'd ever thought possible.

The only question now was how to show her I would never, never harm her. Because every day I saw her, talked to her, every day I watched her with my niece I became more and more convinced that I didn't want to live another day without her.


	11. Peace

**Rose POV**

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes Rose. Yes."

"Erm…no!"

"Please?" Scorpius turned his blue eyes on me pleadingly the next morning, eyebrows curving, mouth pouting just so…the infamous Puppy-Dog Look, in short. Lottie reached towards her uncle from my arms, and held on the fabric of his sleeve when I brought her close enough to reach him, then cooed up at us contentedly.

"See, she wants you to do it too." Scorpius said triumphantly.

I harumpfed, but gave in resignedly.

Dom flew at me the second she saw me in the Great Hall. Not that it was really her fault, per-se, since Scorp insisted on holding my hand (out the portrait hole, along the corridor, and down the stairs, the whispers growing louder and louder…baptism by fire.) and it was kind of a give-away. After Dom had been on me all week, she was beside her self, thinking that she had been the convincing factor in my current happiness. "_Je savais que tu viendrais autour de vous!_" she bubbled, wrenching me away from Scorpius, who quickly lifted Lottie from my arms and sat down, grinning from ear to ear.

I wanted to say, _Yes Dom, _You're _the reason I 'came around', uhuh, sure._ But I didn't. I smiled and let her bounce me up and down excitedly. Then, suddenly, I wasn't being bounced, and a familiar smell enveloped me. Al. I turned around in his arms and grinned, and his grip relaxed.

"Guess that grin means I don't need to dual Malfoy, huh?" he said, smirking at me.

"Er, probably be best if you didn't." I agreed, turning to the table and sitting down.

While I helped myself to some French toast I watched Al plunk down next to Scorpius and dish out some cereal. He paused before pouring his milk and shook his head wonderingly at my new boyfriend. "I don't know how you did it, mate. I figured it would take any bloke at least three years to get her to hold his hand." Scorp smirked at Al's innocent assumption and leaned towards me.

"Should I tell him?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows.

"Might as well, this cat isn't staying in the bag anyway. Dom will interrogate me until I tell her what happened, and after that Albus will pull it out of her." I sighed dramatically, supposedly at my family's lack of respect for my privacy, but it was all theatrics. I loved my family more than anything, meddling and all.

"Okay then." Scorpius grinned and crooked his finger at Albus with a gleeful expression on his face. Al leaned forward and Scorp, ever the gentleman, whispered in his ear, as opposed to telling the whole dinning hall by speaking in a normal tone of voice, as at this point the closest third of students had gone silent and were watching our table raptly. I watched as Al's face transformed from curiosity to shock and finally settled on really, really…gob-smacked. I glared at Al, and he shook his head at me in amusement.

"No, I just thought you'd fight longer," he explained cheerfully before shoveling cereal into his mouth. Dom smirked at him and told the table at large "I _knew_ it," then muttered, "You did kiss him, didn't you?".

"No." I said, just to see the look of horror on her face.

"Then why are you two holding hands and grinning like idiots?" she shrieked, drawing the attention of the small remainder of students who were not already staring and the faculty, who had so far not noticed the 'drama' unfolding.

I rolled my eyes at her, and Scorpius sighed, leaned across me and told her, "She's not lying." Dom looked even more shocked, but he wasn't done yet. "_I_ kissed _her_."

"Oh," Dom said, melodramatically heaving a sigh of relief and lifting Charlotte out of his arms. Scorpius leaned back into his seat, brushing a kiss on my cheek as he went, and tucked back into his breakfast. Lily, mean while was grinning at me across the table and patting an ill-looking Hugo on the back condolingly. Dom glanced up and (finally!) noticed everyone staring at our little corner of the world. So, naturally, she did exactly what Aunt Fleur had taught her daughter _not_ to do since the day she was born. What would make any or all of the women in our family, except for maybe Aunt Ginny on a bad day, pass out from shock (after handing down a strict grounding, of course.) – she bellowed. Very loudly. At all of them.

"WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK YOU'RE STARING AT? CAN WE NOT TALK IN PRIVATE IN THE DINNING HALL ANY MORE? GO BACK TO YOUR FOOD PEOPLE! NOTHING TO SEE!"

_Real_ classy Dom. Thanks so much for that. Lottie, of course, promptly burst into tears at the shouting so close to her ear and was passed over the table to Lily for calming down. What will our mothers say when they find out about this? And excuse me, but since when can _anybody_ hold a private conversation in the dinning hall?

"Hey," Scorpius said, nuzzling my neck as I walked to the common room the next Thursday night. He was fresh out of his post-practice shower, and managed to get my neck wet with his moist hair. I giggled, and handed him Charlotte, then pulled my sweater up and theatrically dried my neck off. He grinned at me and promptly put Lottie down in the play yard, where she stared at him in shock, her forehead starting to crinkle like it did right before she bawled, until her phoenix plushy started flapping its wings. I gaped in shock, and Scorp shrugged. "Dom's idea." He explained, smirking, before gripping my hips and pulling me forward.

He kissed me gently, and my arms seemed to wrap around his neck of their own accord. He gently stroked my backed, and I relaxed against him, sighing into the kiss. Without thinking, I pressed closer to him, and he bit my bottom lip gently. Why had I waited so long to let him in? And how had I managed to go almost five months, living in the same dorm as him, ignoring my heart, his gentle advances and Dom's 'helpful' advice? His mouth left mine and trailed down my necked before he worked his way back up and pressed a kiss to my forehead before ambling over to 'his' armchair and plunking down.

"Well, aren't you coming?" Scorpius asked after a minute. To be fair, I was simply standing there, two fingers on my lips, staring at him like an idiot.

"_Well_…" I drawled, drawing the single-syllable word out as long as I could and tapping my chin thoughtfully. He growled at me in mock anger and I giggled, scooping up Charlotte and her plushy before unceremoniously plopping onto his lap. He pulled me close and pressed a kiss to my neck, before picking up the phoenix and making it talk for Lottie in a high-pitched, feminine voice.

I watched in delight as 'Blaze' swooped around our heads looking for the princess, then suddenly found her and dive-bombed Lottie's neck. Her shriek of glee was matched by Scorpius's enjoyment of her reaction, as he broke in to a wide grin that he quickly turned on me. I nuzzled into his neck and his hand on my back tightened its grip.

So this is what peace feels like. I could get used to this.


	12. Firsts

Chapter 9

During February, Scorpius met with his lawyer about the case Draco was mounting to gain custody of Charlotte. He kept Mr. Wright, Aphrodite's lawyer, and they poured over details, planning out the next few years of Scorpius's life to make sure they could prove he would provide a stable environment for her. Money was not the issue, between the trust fund his mother had set up before she'd died and the money his sister and brother had left for Charlotte and her care, including Aphrodite's own trust fund, they were set. But according to Mr. Wright, Draco could try to prove that a teenage boy was too young and unpredictable to be responsible for a child, especially a baby girl.

It was March, the day of the hearing, and Scorpius was excused from classes, as was I. Although knew I never would have been able to concentrate, it was really that the nanny who usually flooed in was needed at the hearing to make a statement and someone had to be with Charlotte. Luckily, Dom and Al promised to let us borrow notes. I spent the day playing with Lottie, wondering if I'd ever see her again. The will had been clear, and Scorpius had looked five year older when he left that morning in dress robes, notes carefully jotted down on a huge scroll. But money talked, and so did a Dark Mark, even if it supposedly didn't mean anything now, it still said _watch out, you don't want to be on my bad side_ like nothing else.

It was already growing dark outside, the twilight painting the world blue and the humidity from the afternoon's rain fogging up the windows, making the outside world nothing more than a hazy sapphire glow.

Scorpius clamored through the portrait hole, and kicked his shoes off tiredly before coming over and sitting down at my side on the sofa.

"Well?" I demanded, as Lottie grinned at her uncle and cuddled closer to my shoulder.

"They…" he began, then broke into a face-splitting grin, "They ruled in favor of the will. They said that it was plain and concise, and left no room for argument, especially with the testimonies of all the adults. Your Mum was brilliant Rose!"

My own face felt like it was going to crack from my smile, but I did manage to get out a smug, "Who do you think I got it from?" he rolled his eyes at me and held his hands out to Charlotte, who went obligingly. As I watched Scorpius bounce Lottie above his head, grinning at her giggles, I realized how badly I wanted to stay a part of this little family.

_Dad had his arm around my shoulders. We walked inside and sat down, while I craned around, unsure of where, exactly, we were. After a bit I gave up, and just sat there, enjoying being with my dad. He smiled at me, asked me a question, I answered and laughed…laughed until I was crying, and then I couldn't stop…_

"_Rose? _

Rose, sweetie, wake up…"

I bolted upright in bed, gasping, tears running down my face. Scorpius was leaning over the bed, shirtless with a burp cloth over his shoulder. My heart was pounding furiously, feeling like it might thump right out of my chest. I choked out a sob and wiped frantically at my face, as I turned my head away from Scorpius. I had forgotten to pull the drapes in my haze last night, and I could see dawn stealing over the grounds, turning the fresh green spring growth deep blues and purples as the sun slowly made its way to the horizon.

The bed dipped under Scorpius's weight, and I flinched as he pulled my hair over my shoulder, smoothing it down my back. I leaned forward, sobbing silently, as his legs brushed mine when he crossed them and scooted closer. "Rose…" he whispered, kneading the skin at the back of my neck tenderly. I silently shook my head at him.

"What's wrong? Sweetie, please, what's wrong, what did you dream?" he begged.

I shook my head again, and pointed wordlessly at the desk under one of the dawn-kissed views. He stared at me, then got up and walked over. I watched him sift through the scattered papers, vaguely noting that my cheeks were sticky from my tears. He found the letter, and brought it back to the bed, lighting my wand and reading silently, while I padded into the bathroom and washed my face. I already knew the words he was reading for the first time. It wasn't just that I had already read it. They were the same words, the same excuses and apologies that were always in the notes from Daddy Dearest. Things like _I'm sorry_, and _I deeply regret_ and _It will never happen again_ and, of course, my personal favorite-_I've changed_.

I choked back a laugh as I dried my now salt-free face. They had been good words, a good letter, the first time, but I had heard these phrases countless times. When the owl arrived late last night, I had known, when I saw his handwriting, what it would say, it was always the same thing, wasn't it? The same problems, the same lies, the same apologies. And I was sick of it. Because then this happened. Even if I wouldn't, couldn't, let him back into my waking mind, my heart took it up with my brain while I was asleep, reminding me of how good it felt to have a dad, to be loved and cherished and taken care of by a father.

I wandered back to the bed, pulling an over-sized sweater over my tank top on the way. I laid down facing Scorpius and fiddled with the ribbed cuff of my sweater.

"Rose, this is what upset you?" Scorpius asked hesitantly. I nodded. "It seems…to me…like this is a good thing." He murmured hesitantly, scooting over and sitting by my head.

"Yeah, it was. The first time, but now that I know what he's going to have written before I open the letters because he's apologizing for the same thing, yet again…not such a good thing." I climbed into his lap, and he leaned back against the headboard. "I don't know, maybe he'll change eventually, but it's too hard in the mean time. It's been ten years Scorp. It _hurts_."

"I'm sorry sweetie. I'd take it away if I could." I could feel his lips moving in my hair as he spoke. I smiled in spite of myself.

"You know, there's only one other person who's ever said that to me." I told him.

"Your Mum?"

"Yup, Mum." I confirmed, wishing grimly I could take away her pain, too.

Scorpius's hand was making a circuit up and down my back, and his heart thudded under my ear. I burrowed closer, breathing in the spearmint and boy-smell that was inherently _Scorpius_.

"I dreamed about Dad." I said quietly after ten minutes of silence. "He was being nice, and I…wasn't afraid. I wasn't worried about how long it was going to last. I wasn't _anything_, except happy."

Scorpius hissed out a breath and tilted my chin up towards his face. "And that made you scream?" he asked, looking crushed and venomous, both at once, a strange combination.

"I screamed?" I was startled.

"Yup, I thought it was Lottie, hence the burp cloth, but once I got over to her crib I realized she was asleep, and then I heard you again. It scared the hell out of me." I looked down, ashamed and angry. In what twisted world did dreaming about your dad make you scream? "Hey. Look at me." I glanced up. "I will _always_ be here to make your nightmares go away, do you understand me?" I nodded quickly.

"It upset me because it reminded me of what I can't have." I confessed.

"Oh, sweetie," Scorp kissed my lips quickly, and held me tighter. By this time, the sun had risen, and it brought my spirits up with it. Lottie cried from the other room, and I went to get her. Scorpius was still sitting on my bed when I got back, and I smirked at Charlotte. "Look at him, acting like he owns my bed." I murmured to the happy little girl. "Oi you, off the bed." I said, only half-joking.

"Aw, why?" he asked, all innocence.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Let's see…no shirt…plus Quidditch…plus the light of day…equals you, getting a shirt or getting off the bed." I told him tartly.

"Am I tempting you?" he asked with a smug grin, crossing his arms over his bare chest and looking for all the world like king of the hill.

"To stay in here and do nothing but kiss you all day? Yeah. But we can't do that, can we Lottie?" I asked her, bouncing her in my arms. I was next to the bed now, and she leaned towards Scorpius.

"Da da!" she squealed. My mouth dropped open, and the self-satisfied look slid right off of Scorp's face. When I didn't hand her to him she scrunched up her face and started bawling. He got up and took her, looking dazed. "Da da…" he muttered, looking dazed. "Did you teach her?" he said, looking at me in befuddlement.

"Nope, not me; maybe Dom did it. Or maybe she just learned on her own somehow." I wasn't sure how, but there she was, almost nine months old, calling her _uncle_ Da da. Who'd have known, eight months ago when we stepped on the Hogwarts Express, as strangers, that we'd be standing here, like _this_.

"She loves you," I said, resting my chin on his shoulder. "Don't stress out about it, they would want her to be happy, just like she is now." I pressed a kiss to his neck, and he groaned.

"Now who's tempting who?" he shot over his shoulder as we walked out of the room, Lottie waving a fist at me over his shoulder while I smirked at his back.

We made it through our N.E.W.T.S. alive, though barely. Strangely, Dom and Al, who had no baby to take care of, seemed more exhausted than Scorp and I did, although my theory was that they're softer than we are. We'd been juggling a load of school work, plus Head responsibilities and Lottie for ten months, while they'd had considerably less to do, so we managed our time better. At least, that was what I told Al when he demanded how I wasn't peeling paint off the walls yet one morning half way through testing.

And then suddenly we were packing and getting ready to go back to our homes. Scorpius was moving into his sister's London flat, and I was going to live with Mum. I had all of my things neatly packed into my trunk and ready to go by the time Scorp was halfway through Lottie's room, where he was growling at random pieces of tape and shoving baby clothes rather forcefully into boxes.

"Having fun?" I smirked and a footie sleeper went flying.

"No," he said, heaving a sigh and plopping down into the rocking chair, "but at least Charlotte's happy." He indicated the little girl who was happily rocking away on her broom.

"You're making this way to hard on yourself. _Accio_ Charlotte's clothes." I waved my wand over the whole room, and one I had them all floating in the air, "_Plica_ Charlotte's clothes," then deposited them into a boxed and taped it up. "_Accio_ Charlotte's toys." And they went into another box. Scorpius was staring at me with a mixture of horrified why-didn't-I-think-of-that and gratitude, as he grudging lifted his wand and started in on the bed linens.

We were finished with her room in ten minutes.

I was just giving myself a quiet pat on the back after depositing a stack of boxes by the portrait hole, when Scorp put his boxes down and slipped an arm around my waist, pulling me closer. "I knew there was a reason I was keeping you around," he murmured in my ear, "Thank you.". The warmth of his breath was doing funny things to my insides, but I tried to ignore it. "Humm, wanted for my mind…not a bad way to go…" I mused.

"Well," he kissed behind my ear, "not just," a kiss on my neck, "your mind." He placed a light kiss on my collar bone, then came up to my mouth. "There are…other reasons," he muttered against my lips, tightening his hold on my waist and bringing the other hand to cup my cheek before kissing me deeply. When we broke apart for air I suddenly remembered what I'd been about to do when he kissed me, and smacked his chest forcefully, not that it did much damage.

"Humpf," I arched one eyebrow at him in what I hoped was a dangerous manner and planted my hands on my hips. He grinned at me and I turned around to walk off, slightly miffed but not all that upset. I knew he wasn't using me, but I couldn't let him off the hook easy, now could I?

"Hey!" he grabbed my hips and pulled me back against him, releasing my hips and wrapping his forearms around my chest. "Your _heart_. I love you for your _heart_."

I stiffened. He loved me? We'd never exchanged those three words before, and while I knew how I felt, I hadn't expected him to feel that strongly for months, if not years. I knew how much I relied on him, depended on him, _needed_ him, but figured, Scorp being the bloke and all, he wouldn't…

"Sweetie….Rose?" he asked, loosing his grip. "You don't have to say anything…I just…it's just…"

I spun around in his embrace and wrapped my arms around his neck. "I love you." Three little words, they changed nothing and everything. Scorpius whooped and kissed my again, backing me up against the wall and cradling my face in his hands, thumbs tracing patterns on my cheeks as my fingers tangled in his hair.

Whoops, I guess I might have let him off the hook a _little_ easy…


	13. CryScorp POV

I _apparated_ into the front hall, knock-down-drag-out tired, when the nanny came flying at me, red-faced and huffing. I eyed the snappish thirty-something witch, and wondered again how much longer it would be until our usual nanny was back from her holiday. Mrs. Homely was gray-haired, grandmotherly and sweet, and I wasn't quite sure how this woman could work for the same child-care agency Mrs. Homely did.

"I quit!" she exclaimed, shaking a fist in my face. "That baby hasn't stopped screaming in hours, she is an absolute terror and I refuse to come back to this! Good _night_!" With that she stomped out the front door and slammed it shut. I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck as I followed Lottie's wails up the stairs to her bedroom, wondering how I was going to get to Healer training in the morning, before remembering that the next day was Saturday, and chances were pretty good Rose would watch her for me.

Charlotte was still dressed in her day clothes even though it was ten o'clock and sitting in her crib crying desolately, her breath hiccupping in and out every few seconds. I picked her up, fished the cell phone Rose had insisted we both get after graduation and called her, starting in on Lottie's nappy while I listened to it ring.

"Hello?" Rose answered, sounding sleepy.

"Hey. You know how horrible Mrs. Homely's replacement was?" I began.

"_Mmm_…" she hummed in response, then cut herself off. "Wait, _was_? What happened?"

"_Heh_…she quit."

"Why?"

"Said Charlotte wouldn't stop crying and she wouldn't come back. She even called her a terror!"

"How could anyone call our angel a terror?" I smiled into the phone at her causal comment about "our" baby as I finished with Lottie's nappy and started changing her into a soft knit sleeper. "Er, your angel." I frowned. Until we had graduated, she'd done almost as much as I had on a daily basis for my niece, and she loved her as much as I did.

"_Our _angel." I corrected, and grimaced down at Charlotte as her cry picked up in intensity as my knuckles brushed her stomach.

"Scorp, is she sick? Her cry doesn't sound right." Rose's concern was palpable through the phone.

"I was just wondering the same thing. She had a dirty nappy and her day clothes still on," I stared speculatively at her kicking fitfully on the changing table, "I think I'll see if she'll eat and maybe that and a clean nappy will make her feel better."

"'Kay. Anything else going on?" Rose asked, and I sighed.

"Well, I have training tomorrow, rounds at St. Mungo's with one of my professors…is there any chance you could keep Lottie? If not I'll…" I pulled up short. What would I do? I could call the nanny agency, but after this last debacle I was loathe to do it, especially when Mrs. Homely would be back Monday.

"It's fine, I didn't have anything unmovable planned for tomorrow." Rose told me as I carried Charlotte into the kitchen. "Dom was going to come over and help me with some sorting in my closet, the amount of toys I have packed up is crazy, but we can do that Sunday or next week."

My knees weakened with relief as I pulled a cup of mixed berry baby food from the cupboard and settled Lottie in the highchair. "Thanks. I know it would be harder with her around, but she could hang out over there and you could still smack at the work." I said, knowing she wouldn't want to do anything with Lottie, even take her home with her, without my blessing. With anyone else it would put my mind at ease, but I wished Rose would realize that I saw Charlotte as partially hers too at this point and that I trusted her choices.

"Nah. I want some Lottie time anyway. Maybe if she's feeling better I'll take her to the park for a while?"

Charlotte wouldn't stop squirming in her chair and refused to take any of the food, her wails only escalating as I gazed at her in concern.

"She'd love that. Rose, I think I'm going to take her into St. Mungo's, something's not right." I had been on the fence, but once the words were out I knew it was the right thing to do.

"Okay. Can…do you want me to come?" she sounded hesitant, and I shook my head. Always so afraid of over-stepping.  
>"You don't have to, I know it's late. But I would like it." I said, afraid myself of asking too much of her. Although she'd proved to me over and over again how mature, selfless, caring and understanding she was, I was still painfully aware that raising a baby at seventeen wasn't anyone's idea of a good time, and when that baby was not biologically yours…I didn't want her to feel obligated, but I knew better now than to push her away, too.<p>

"I'll be there in a minute. I just need to pull some jeans on and let Mom know." I heard a _swish_ of fabric, and a muffled thump, followed by Rose's indignant "Ow!" But then she laugh, "Teach me to try and triple-task. Be there in a flash!" and the phone clicked off. A crack sounded down the hall and she rushed into the room and over to Charlotte, quickly picking her up and pressing her lips to her forehead. She turned to me, sweater-coat flying out around her thighs and shifted her slouchy-boot-clad feet on my kitchen floor. "She doesn't have a fever," she said, sounding puzzled.

"Huh," I said, frowning at them. "I'm gonna go throw her hippogriff into her nappy bag, then we can go." Rose nodded, and I raced up the stairs.

The assessment healer at the front of St. Mungo's emergency ward said he didn't think there was anything life threatening going on, and that the wait time was about an hour. Rose spent forty-five minutes pacing around the waiting room with Charlotte, gently rocking and soothing her. She was on the far side of her loop around the room when an elderly wizard sat down heavily across from me, a large towel clamped around his hand. He followed my gaze over to the two girls and chuckled knowingly.

"Still can't believe you made another human being, eh? I remember the feeling. After my wife had our first son…I was so in awe."

I smiled weakly, and gathered my scattered wits to try and form some sort of coherent reply that would set the aged wizard straight. But he wasn't done talking.

"There's something about watching a mother with her baby isn't there? Take those two," he lifted his toweled hand with his other hand and pointed shakily at Rose and Lottie, "the bond you can tell they have. The way she comforts her, how the baby reacts. That's not something you get without some kind of natural maternal connection."

The healer called out a name, and the wizard got up. "Take care of those girls, now. Good night." And with that he walked off just as Rose meandered over.

"Did you know him?" she asked.

"Nope, but he sure liked to talk." I told her, watching her hold Charlotte with fresh eyes.

As the minutes ticked by a thought started niggling in the back of my head. "Maybe I should floo Dad." I said quietly, testing the words. Rose glanced up in surprise and lifted Lottie up from where she'd been laying on her lap while she made faces at her.

"I'm sure he'd like that…" she said hesitantly, eyebrows knit together.

"He is her grandfather, after all. It's not like letting him know would mean giving up custody or anything. He can be in her life without being her guardian, right?"

"Yeah," Rose said, eyes soft.

"What?"

"What do you mean, what?"

"Why're you looking at me like that?" I clarified.

"I'm proud of you." She smiled, and kissed Lottie's fist. "If you want to go, I'll stay here incase they call."

"Okay…" I slowly got up, not quite sure how I had come to be in this situation. I could only imagine what Dad was going to say. I tossed the floo powder into the fire place and said "Malfoy Manor,", sticking my head in resignedly.

"Scorpius?" Dad said, almost dropping his book. He was sitting in a leather chair in front of the fireplace.

"Hey," I said sheepishly. "Something is wrong with Lottie, so we've taken her to St. Mungo's. I thought you might like to…know or come down or whatever."  
>"Oh." He looked taken aback, but put his book down and started to get out of his chair. "I'll be there in a minute, if you're sure."<p>

"Yeah, we're sure." I said, hoping if I spoke in the plural enough he wouldn't freak when he saw Rose.

When I got back to the waiting room moments late my girls were gone. "Mr. Malfoy?" a young assistant healer in puke green robes was squinting at me through tiny rectangular glasses. "Your…girlfriend…" his voice rose questioningly before he continued "asked me to wait for you and bring you back when you returned."

"Thank you." I said, speed walking for the double doors. He lead me down a hall and around a corner before walking into a small room Lottie was lying on a table by the wall, Rose hovering at the end while a plump healer with a long salt-and-pepper braid down her back and plum covered robes waved her wand over Lottie.

"She seems to have several broken ribs," the healer told Rose, not seeing me. "Has she been roughly handled? Most babies with broken bones have been abused."

Rose looked at her in shock. "Scorpius treats her with kid gloves. He thinks she hung the stars. And last time I saw her she was bright-eyed and bubbling. She was with a nanny today, and she was like this when Scorpius got home." Her eyes met mine when she spoke my name and the healer turned around.

"I take it you're the baby's father?" she said, eyeing me up and down.

"Uncle. My sister and brother-in-law passed when she was a month old. The nanny was a sub, our usually nanny has been on holiday and the agency provided a replacement, she's been rather temperamental with me, but the agency is reputable. I figured she liked kids better than adults. I guess not."

"Hump. This will need to be reported to the agency as well as the proper officials." The healer eyed me distrustfully.

"But will Lottie be okay?" Rose asked, stroking her hair and gazing at her softly. I wasn't the only one who thought she hung the stars.

"I'd rather like to know that myself." My father stormed into the room, taking in Rose's hands splayed protectively over his granddaughter before turning to the healer.

"Broken ribs." I told him shortly. "Seems the substitute nanny isn't quite as careful as she should be."

Dad glowered, then turned back to my girlfriend and baby. "And you a-" he began sharply, before cutting himself off. "Forgive me. I'm Draco Malfoy, you must be Rose."

Rose smiled serenely at him and nodded, disentangling one hand from Lottie's fingers and extending it towards my father. He stared at it for a minute before shaking it firmly and bending over Lottie's head. Rose stepped back, but let Lottie keep her other hand. I walked up behind Rose and wrapped my arms around her. "You are amazing." I murmured. "I know" She said smugly.

"I love you."

"I know."

I growled.

"And I love you too."

"Hello Charlotte. I'm your grandpa." Dad was actually cooing. The healer loudly cleared her throat.

"I can fix her ribs or you lot can watch her cry for another hour. Which will it be?"

Dad stepped back, and Rose pulled her finger out of Lottie's fist. "Does someone want to hold her?" Everyone was looking at me, but I nudged Rose forward. "She needs you." She gathered her up gently and held her head against her chest, holding her like a newborn.

It only took a minute, but I thought Charlotte would make the whole lot of us deaf with her surging wail. And then she was silent, with only one last hiccup. She nuzzled into Rose and shut her eyes; within moments her breathing evened out.

"We'll need to keep her overnight in the pediatric ward for observation. Her guardian can stay, but no one else." I opened my mouth to argue with her, tell her that Rose was as much her parent as I was, but Rose was already nodding along. "Do you want to carry her up?" the healer asked her, and she nodded again.

We made a silent party, trooping soundlessly through the hospital. Rose followed the healer into a room decked out in mid-night blue and covered in twinkling stars and laid Lottie into the crib. As she backed away, Lottie grabbed her hair and shirt, pulling her back. "Momma," she sobbed, clutching tightly.

Everyone froze.

The healer backed out of the room, warning us "It's late, the visitors need to leave soon. The wards on the room will monitor her."

Dad eyed the three of us. "I'm going to get some tea." He said decisively. "Scorpius, Rose, can I get you anything?"

"No." we chorused in unison.

As he quietly shut the door Rose moved, lifting Lottie back out of her crib and settling into the rocking chair. "I'm right here baby. I'm right here." When she spoke I realized she was crying.

"Hey," I said, crouching down next to them. "What's wrong? She's going to be fine."

"Scorp, I love you. But I love her too, and she's already lost one mother. Maybe now that we're not in school together I shouldn't spend so much time with her. What if…"

"What if nothing." Trust Rose to second guess us, and worry about Lottie, all in the same breath. "You and I…and Lottie, we're forever. We're always. You're not going to loose her and she's not going to loose you, because I'm never letting either one of you go, okay? And I'm going to go talk to the healer about you staying, if you want."

"It's okay." She offered me a watery smile, tracing circles on our baby's arm as she once again slept peacefully. "I'll go get some sleep and then you can rest tomorrow. No need to make a scene." She stood and handed me Lottie carefully, but she still woke up. "Dada," was all she lisped out before going back to sleep.

"Always." I told her, pulling her close with my free arm and kissing her. She smiled against my lips. "Always." She agreed. Dad cleared his throat from the doorway, tea steaming in one hand. Rose blushed, pressed a kiss to Lottie's head and walked out the door.

"Goodnight Rose," I head my father say.

"Good night Mr. Malfoy."

"Please, call me Dad. I have a feeling we should both start getting used to it."

She blushed harder and dipped her head in acknowledgement before rounding the corner.

"That was nice of you." I said, not quite sure I trusted this new version of my father.

"Son, I realized when you flooed me tonight that this might be my one and only chance to be a part of your life and my granddaughter's life. If that means a Weasley calling me Dad, so be it. It's worth it to watch my granddaughter call her Momma and you Dada." He brushed a hand over the blond curls of the little girl in question.

"Oh." I didn't know what to say to that. But if he could make an effort, so could I. "Would you like to go with us to the park the next time I have a day off healer training?"

"I'd love to."

The healer poked her head in. "Time to go sir."

Dad nodded and headed for the door. "And son?"  
>"Yes Dad?" I said, looking up from Lottie's sleeping form.<p>

"I meant it when I told Rose I thought we should get used to her calling me Dad. That girl is a keeper. Don't wish-wash around and let her get away."

"I know she is. Don't worry, she's not going anywhere Lottie and I aren't going too, if I have anything to say about it."

"Good." And with that, Dad was gone.

If tonight had done anything, it had reminded me how much I loved both the girls in my life, and how sure I was that they both needed to stay in it. Permanently and together.

I needed Rose and Lottie.

Lottie didn't just need me, she needed Rose too.

And Rose needed us.

The three of us had been thrown together out of desperation and death, and we were going to stay together with love. We could create a new life, not the life Aphrodite had hoped for for her daughter, but a life full of light and laughter just the same. It was possible, within reach, even.

And that meant one thing.

"What do you think, Charlotte? You want to go ring shopping with me?"


	14. Forever and Ever

_Rose POV_

_Hurry up! You're going to miss all the fun._ I hit send and smirked, waiting for Scorp to reply in a mild panic about whatever fun he thought he was missing. And sure enough, just as I reached up to tape the crepe paper stream to the wall my phone _ding_ed.

_Fun? What fun? We'll be there in five!_ Haha. Good, so I could save the rest of the streamers and balloons for him to hang and go finish frosting the cake. I shoved the phone into the back pocket of my jeans and walked into the kitchen. Charlotte had turned one the previous Wednesday and we were having a huge Weasley party at Mum's today for her, complete with the newest addition to the family, Sophie Anne, Teddy and Toire's little girl. Since she'd just arrived a month ago, and this was her first family outing, the mothers were beside themselves, although most of us had already met her.

I had just tied the yellow polka dot apron on over my cobalt blue sleeveless wrap tunic when Scorp walked through the back door into the kitchen and set Lottie down before unloading his armful of party supplies on the table. Charlotte immediately plopped down and began tugging at her sandals. "Oo'," she demanded. She hadn't quite gotten the F in off yet. Mum walked in and heard her and unbuckled the straps before attempting to give her a hug. "Momma!" Lottie yelled, and wriggled free before scooting over to me on her bum. I set down the tube of icing and lifted her up.

"What do you think of your cake?" I asked her. Scorpius had left the party planning mostly up to me, and he'd loved my idea of making the theme the same as her nursery. I thought it would be a good way of keeping her parents close, so the carrot cake was shaped like a giant bee hive, complete with marzipan bees. I may have gone a _little_ overboard, but I loved baking and she'd only turn one once, so why not?

"Eeeh, eeh!" Lottie leaned towards it, opening and closing her little fists.

"I think she likes it!" Mum laughed, before starting in on the carrots she was determined to carve into daisy shapes.

"Wow." Scorpius stared at the cake in utter shock, for once totally speechless. I grinned. "So, is watching you ice the cake the fun we were missing?" he asked once he found his voice again, eyebrows knit in confusion.

"Oh, no." I smiled angelically at him. "Your fun is in the dinning room." He wandered in, and when he saw the mess I'd left, pulled out his wand. "We do it the Muggle way!" I shouted gaily, "More _fun_ that way. It's a _tradition_." Here my grin turned a little bit wicked as I settled Lottie in the high chair Mum now kept for her and tucked her pink smocked party dress in around her.

"Ugh! I've been tricked." Scorpius moaned.

"Love you!"

"Yeah…love you too."…and then, after several minutes…"Were you serious about the wand thing?"

"Rose?" Scorpius said eight hours later as he wandered into the kitchen where I was cleaning up.

"Yeah?" I set the washcloth to work on the dishes and charmed the drying towel before turning around. He still had his dark wash jeans on, but his white tee-shirt was now covered by a dark blue button down. "Where are you going?" I asked, surprised.

He smirked. "I've got a surprise for you. And your Mum offered to watch Lottie for the night."

"A dressy surprise?" I asked, glancing down at the icing smudges now decorating my tunic. Charlotte had loved her cake, but she had also reached for me one too many times for my clothes to not become a casualty of her big day.

"Er…" Scorp glanced sheepishly at me, eyes flickering towards the icing.

I laughed. "I'll be down in five." I said as I headed up the back stairs for my room, where I shucked off my jeans and messy shirt and pulled a slightly above-knee length sleeveless chiffon dress with a tiny flower pattern and a cinched waist. I snatched my purse and a black cropped blazer as I stuffed my feet into leather sandals and bolted for the door.

Scorpius was sitting in the living room with Mum, who was already settled in reading to Lottie. His mouth dropped open a little when he saw me, and I grinned. As he got up and walked towards the front door Lottie popped her head over the back of the couch to watch him go. "Dada! Momma!" she called. I walked over and picked her up, and she snuggled in. Scorpius leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight darling." He said, and Mum jumped up.

"Hold on. Let me take a picture!" she called, madly rummaging through the mess of toys, pillows and blankets on the floor. "Aha!" she held it up victoriously, and motioned for us to back up into the hall. Scorpius wrapped his arms around both of us.

"Smile for Nana 'Moine." Scorp told Lottie, pointing towards Mum. Her face lit up when she spotted Mum again, but she snuggled deeper into my arms as she came closer. The camera _click_ed, and then the flash went off. Lottie giggled and rubbed her eyes, before throwing her arms around my neck and giving me a slobbery kiss. Scorpius let us go, and I started disentangling Lottie.

"No, no wait. I want to take a picture!" he said, fishing in his pocket for his phone. So I stopped and cuddled my head closer to her. He tapped at the screen for a second, then said "Got it."

"Night baby. Go see Nana." Lottie wasn't thrilled, but she went anyway after Scorp took her and whispered something in her ear. I waved goodbye to her and she grinned.

"'ing! 'ing, Dada!" she called as he opened the door. He blanched, and I looked askance at him.

"What's she saying? I don't think I've heard that one yet."

"Oh, new word." He said nonchalantly, "We'll figure it out." He assured me, then took my hand and apperated.

"Ugh. Was that really necessary? I asked, then shrieked as he tied something over my eyes. "What are you up to?" I demanded.

"A _surprise_. And it won't be a surprise if you can see where we're going."

I would have complained if it wasn't so sweet, but it was, so I just wrapped my arms around him and walked along, grateful my sandals were not high-heeled. After a few minutes a gust of cold, garlic scented air hit me as a door creaked open in front of me and we walked in.

"Mr. Malfoy, glad to see you," an unfamiliar male voice greeted my boyfriend. "The…table you requested is ready."

"Come on. Don't look so scared, all the women are glaring at me." Scorpius told me as he guided me around what I could only assume was tables. I pasted a huge smile on and tipped my face up towards his.

"Better?" I asked through clenched teeth. He snorted, and tightened his grip on my waist, nudging me to my right.

"Oh, _perfect_, sweetie." He said sarcastically, and let me go. I clutched harder, and he laughed. "If you want the blindfold off you're going to need to let go so I can help you sit down."

"Fine." I sulked, then allowed him to guide me to my chair.

"I'll send someone right away to get your drink orders." And with that it was suddenly very, very quite. Scorpius reached around and took off the blindfold. It was blue silk ombre.

We were outside again, on a deck that was overlooking a lake and shaded by trees. We were screened from the main dining room by a weeping willow, which was covered in fairy lights like the rest of the trees. Some kind of soft jazz music was playing from somewhere I couldn't pinpoint.

I glanced back over at Scorp, who was folding the scarf up neatly and smiling at my gaping jaw. "This is…amazing." I was wondering if their deck was always like this or if maybe my boyfriend had something to do with the current ambiance.

As if he could hear my thoughts he smirked, and held out the square of fabric to me. "For you."

I immediately unfolded it and put it around my neck.

"You weren't joking about a surprise." I said, as I craned around at our surroundings again.

"No," he said simply as the waiter came back.

"That was really good. Thank you." I said as we finished the last of the chocolate cheesecake.

"You're welcome." He said, eyes warm. "Let's go for a walk around the lake before we head back."

I checked my watch. It was getting late, and I was worried about Lottie. "What about Lottie's bedtime?" I asked.

"If she's asleep when we get back your Mum said we could spend the night." He said, lacing our fingers together and wandering down the path around the water.

The crickets were singing, and somewhere an owl was hooting. We were about halfway around the lake when Scorpius pulled away.

"Rose?" he said, stopping.

"Yes?" I said, confused.

"I've realized something, and I need to tell you."

"Okay."

"I love you." _Where is he going with this?_ "You're smart and caring and beautiful. If Aphrodite could have picked a mother for her baby, I know she would have chosen you." Here he kneeled. "Rose, I want to wake up next to you every morning for the rest of my life. I want to catch you if you ever fall, I never want you to wake up scared and alone after a nightmare again." He starts digging in his pant pocket, and all I can think is _Lottie. 'ing. Ring. Oh my God._ "Rose, I want to raise Charlotte with you. I want you to have my babies. I can't imagine sharing my life with anyone but you." He popped open a black box and lifted the square princess cut diamond ring towards me "Marry me?"

I stared at it in disbelief. He rose and cradled my face in one hand, staring into my eyes.

"Yes." He beamed and leaned in, kissing me gently but quickly before reaching for me hand. Scorpius slowly slid the simple white gold band up my finger and then laced our fingers together once again in the air between us. I wiggled finger and watched the diamond twinkle in the muted light.

"Lottie knew." I stated, looking at him curiously.

He smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. She was there when I was ring shopping. She kinda helped, and I may have told her who it was for. I didn't think she'd be able to _say_ anything. Apparently the sales women said "ring" one too many times."

I laughed. "And then she almost proposed for you!"

"Yeah. Remind me to not underestimate her again. Ever."

"Cause I'll be there for all of it."

"Sweetie, you'll be there forever."

"Forever and ever," I agreed.


End file.
